PR016

September 1994

Technical Bulletin

SelectPress Paper Options

Most of the confusion arises from the different orientations available for loading Letter/A4 paper into the Upper Tray, Multi-Purpose Feeder(MPF), and Manual Feed Tray. Since Letter/A4 paper can be mounted into these trays in either a Long Edge or Short Edge orientation, customers often think that they need to change the page setup options on their computers from portrait to landscape or vise versa. The Page Setup dialog box on your computer is used to define the orientation of the printed information in relation to the size of the paper (ie 8.5"x11"). Because the SelectPress is capable of printing documents onto paper oriented in two different directions, it is necessary for the printer to know how the paper is loaded in the trays. The printer automatically changes the orientation of the image of the printed document to match the orientation of the paper currently installed in the printer's trays.

Care must be taken to ensure that all paper of a particular size is mounted in the same orientation in each tray (i.e. Long edge in the upper tray & Long edge in the MPF). If the same paper is mounted in two different orientations (i.e. Long edge in the upper tray & Short edge in the MPF) the printer will attempt to print the page in the orientation of the paper in the upper tray, even when printing from the MPF. This will cause either paper jams or incorrect printing. The only way the printer knows the size & orientation of the paper loaded in the upper tray is by the insertion of the correct paper size plate into the tray. The paper size plate or "key" has a set of raised tabs that inform the printer's electronics of the size & orientation of paper in the tray. The icon on the front of the paper key indicates the correct orientation for each size. If the paper loaded in the tray & the key installed in that same tray do not match, the printer will either jam or ask for a different tray.

It is often asked "If you load legal or ledger paper in the upper tray, how will the printer know what orientation to print to letter size paper in the MultiPurpose Feeder?" The SelectPress remembers the orientation of the letter size paper that was last in the upper tray. So if you had letter long edge feed in the upper tray, switched to ledger size paper in the upper tray and then attempted to print a document to the MultiPurpose feeder that is letter short edge feed you will get a paper jam. In order to print this document short edge feed, you will have to remove the paper tray, install the letter short edge feed paper size tab into the tray (you don't have to change the paper), and insert the tray for about 10 seconds. The printer will read & store this as the new default orientation for letter. You can then remove the tray & reinsert the ledger tab. If you forget to switch the key back to ledger, the next time the printer tries to feed letter paper from the upper tray, it will draw the ledger paper from a tray that is keyed as letter and jam.

If you follow the simple guideline of always inserting specific paper sizes in the same orientation, you should be able to print with minimal confusion.

If you have any difficulty with this procedure, please contact GCC Technical support at (781) 276-8620.