Here are a couple of cool tricks to help you with using your multifunctional printer and desktop printers. I have two sheets of 8.5×11 paper. When this paper is manufactured on giant machines, it goes through a series of processes where it lays these tiny fibers down in a specific direction. Knowing which direction the paper is laid will help me understand how to put the paper into the machine, which helps me have fewer service issues because as the paper goes through the machine, it needs to bend a certain way while it’s printed. Here is the cool trick:
I will take this 8.5×11 sheet of paper and tear it down part ways vertically and then again horizontally. In the video, the paper ripped a straight line in the vertical direction but tore diagonally in the horizontal direction. Because the paper ripped a straight line in the paper’s vertical direction, it tells me the paper fibers are running down the sheet by 11 inches.
The second cool test is bending the paper. This test is with an 8.5×11 sheet of paper. Bend the paper to where the 8.5-inch sides touch, and then bend it where the 11-inch sides touch. When bending, you’ll notice you get more resistance in one direction than another; in the video bending it where the 8.5-inch sides touched caused more resistance than bending it where the 11-inch sides touched. What that tells me is the paper fibers run down the page 11 inches, as we found in the rip test.
So when inserting the ream of paper into the machine, I’m going to want to insert it short edge first. This way will cause less resistance, paper jams, and service issues. Follow us for more tips!