Everyone who uses a copier or printer on a regular basis has probably experienced a paper jam at least once. And anyone who has had to deal with a paper jam probably didn't enjoy the experience. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to reduce the frequency of paper jams (which can increase productivity as well as office morale).
1. Keep paper sealed as long as possible
If you don't use a high volume of paper on a regular basis, put enough paper in the copier to last for a day or so, and keep the rest your paper sealed up in its package. Paper that sits in an opened package, or sits out on a shelf, is more prone to atmospheric conditions and will probably cause more paper jams. Especially in damp or humid environments, keeping your paper sealed up can help your copier or printer to run more efficiently.
2. Fan and flip
If the paper is jamming and it feels damp or has an obvious curl to it, take the paper out of the tray and fan it out, then put it back in upside down to reverse the direction of the curl. Curled paper can often have a hard time making it through the twists and turns inside a copier, so if your paper is curly and it is in the direction to be fed long edge first (portrait) try turning it so the short edge is fed in first (landscape) which will help it travel through the machine better. (Be sure to also adjust the paper guides and fences in the tray, and if the copier or printer requires you to set the paper size, change it to the appropriate setting.)
3. Check the paper size settings
Some copiers have an auto-detect feature which allows them to automatically sense the size and orientation of the paper. If your copier does not have auto detect, make sure that each paper tray is set for the right dimensions. A wrong paper size setting can cause jams as the sensors don't see paper when they think they should, or they see paper when they don't expect to.
4. Use the right kind of paper for your machine
Some paper is designed specifically for laser or inkjet printers, and this should be stated on the package. Using inkjet paper in a laser printer can cause jamming, as well as cause damage to the internal components. Also be sure not to use paper that is too thick, too thin, or too heavy for your machine. The copier's specifications can usually be found in the user guide, or online at the manufacturer's web site.
🛈 Certain types of paper, such as bargain or discount paper and recycled paper, are more prone to jamming than high-quality copier paper.
5. Take care when loading paper
Be gentle when loading paper into the paper tray. The paper on the bottom of the stack can easily become bent when you slide it in, causing the paper stack to sit at an angle and not feed into the machine properly.
6. Watch out for static
Static electricity can build up in a stack of paper, causing individual sheets to stick together. When the paper is picked up by the rollers, two or more sheets fed through together will almost always cause a paper jam, which can sometimes be hard to remove. If your paper has a lot of static and sticks together, replace it with paper from a fresh ream.
(Originally published on Helium.com, 2011)
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