Avoiding crumpled paper when printing from backface

From: Eric Veach 
To: glab@graphics.Stanford.Edu
Subject: Avoiding crumpled paper on "backface"
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 10:35:30 -0700 (PDT)


For the past couple of months, "backface" has not
been behaving very well -- it often puts big creases
in the paper (in my experience, about 1 page out of 4).

Well, there is a simple trick to avoid this problem:

	** load the paper upside down **

(I got this one out of the printer manual, of all places.)
It turns out that one side of the paper is smoother
than the other, and the printer is sensitive to this.

So, here are the detailed instructions:

  1. The "reams" of paper (i.e. those packages of 500 sheets)
     have a seam on one side.  The natural thing to do is
     to open the package with this seam facing up.

  2. Take the paper out, and flip it over as you put it
     into the printer.

(Of course, you could open it with the same facing down,
but this is more awkward, which is why people have
consistently been loading the paper the wrong way.)

** A True Testimonial **

Last night, backface was crumpling about 1 page in 3.
After flipping the paper over (as suggested by the manual),
it printed over 100 pages without any problems.

Happy printing,

Eric