Laser printer paper, low cost recommendations? (20 to 24 lb) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: garrettm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2025, 12:37:16 am
content: ...

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 27, 2025, 01:09:22 am
content: $11 per ream! Holy crap!I don't know what kinds of paper you have in the US, but I just buy any standard "copy paper" without giving it any further thought. I too have a brother machine and have never had any issues with different brands or weights of paper.I typically just buy a box of 5 reams of the "Reflex" brand paper for AUD$41.50. It's just your bog standard, 80 gsm paper.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2025, 01:13:57 am
content: I can't recommend a good paper, but will recommend not buying the Costco economy paper. Doesn't seem to affect print quality, but something about it makes it curl about the long axis, which then jambs up the output tray.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2025, 01:50:10 am
content: I'm pretty sure the paper isn't the cause of your printing problems.I say this because I've been using various laser printers over the last 3 decades, and I'veneverseen a problem such as you describe with any of them, including my own HP Laserjet 2100M which is sitting right next to me here.And I feed my printers--indeed all the laser printers I've ever used--all kinds of paper, including recycled (re-used) paper, such as the blank page I get in mailings.Zero problems.It sounds almost as if there's a problem with your printer's fuser, the thing that melts the toner onto the paper after it's been deposited by the laser. That might cause smearing and similar issues.All the printers I've used, including my HP, use the standard Canon printing "engine". I wonder what Brother uses: do they have their own printing unit?And $11 a ream? That's absurdly expensive. Just get whatever's on sale at Office Despot or wherever you get office supplies in your area.Paper quality makes much more of a difference when using an inkjet printer.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2025, 03:17:04 am
content: Doesn't sound like a very good printer to me. All the laser printers I've ever used have been as reliable and robust as a Mack truck.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2025, 04:17:27 am
content: QuoteMy brother happily deals with the elcheapo £3 a ream copier paper i feed it.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2025, 03:30:28 pm
content: Get any printed letter you received recently on plain, non-glossy paper (an invoice, blood test results, …) or get a few sheets from your employer/school’s office. Do test prints on that. If it still fails, I’d blame toner cartridge or the drum. It may just be a coincidence, that it happened when you changed paper.Laser print may have trouble sticking to some media. But I can’t imagine a printer being that picky about paper, to fail this way.I myself use cheap 80 g/m² office/xero paper, less than half-penny a page. Since forever.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2025, 12:41:45 am
content: Quote from: Analog Kid on February 27, 2025, 03:17:04 amEvery laser printer’s manual has a similar disclaimer about paper characteristics.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2025, 01:06:02 am
content: Quote from: garrettm on February 27, 2025, 12:37:16 amIs it a color or black and white machine? Color laser printers are much more sensitive to paper quality/characteristics than black and white lasers. That’s why “color laser paper” exists and is not a gimmick: it is smoother and has less dust.Quote from: garrettm on February 27, 2025, 12:37:16 amWait a second… so you’re printing approximately 0.8 pages per day, and you’re worrying about the cost of paper?!? That means you’re using a smidgen over half a ream of paper per year. At that rate, who cares if it’s $5 or $25 per ream?!?!!If you printed a lot, it’d make sense to invest the time to optimize for paper cost. But for someone like you who doesn’t print much, I would optimize for other characteristics than price.I speak from experience: I don’t print that much, and I have various paper types at home:- ordinary inexpensive paper for drafts and ordinary correspondence, etc.- pastel colored paper (currently still on my first ream of light green) for my own archival copies of documents submitted (like tax returns and other official correspondence) so I know it’s my archival copy.- high-quality extra-thin paper (60g ≈ 16lb bond) to save space and weight in binders. (I used this in school to substantially reduce the size and weight of all my handouts, etc. Printing my own double-sided onto this thin paper represents a 62.5% reduction in thickness and weight compared to the single-sided 80g (20lb bond) the teachers generally used.) To me that is well worth the $15-20/ream price of this paper.- high-quality 90g (24lb bond) for things where extra quality or durability is warranted.

author: nali
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2025, 09:32:39 am
content: Just to add to the above - Inkjet paper often has a high chalk surface content to absorb the ink which can mess with lasers.Also, copier paper sometimes is designed for printing a particular way up due to the way it is calendered. Not so much of a thing nowadays as double sided printing is common, but look for a "this way up" arrow on the end of the packet.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 04:42:06 am
content: The other thing I just thought of, I know most (all?) of the official Brother drivers include various options to alter the way the fuser behaves. You might want to experiment with the "Improve Toner Fixing" option. In addition, Brother recommends that if this option is not sufficient, set the media type to thicker paper. Not exactly sure what this does; Increases the fuser temperature perhaps?See:https://support.brother.com/g/s/id/htmldoc/mfc/cv_mfc9120cn/encn/html/sug/chapter1_10_12.html

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 03:59:01 pm
content: Given that the “reduce curl” and “improve toner fixing” settings expressly are stated to decrease/increase fuser temperature, I can imagine the thickness settings do one of three things:- change the feed speed, causing the fusing process to be faster/slower- changing the pressure of the rollers in the fuser- further decreasing/increasing the fuser temperature