# laser printers

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-printers/31999>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 4, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-printers/31999 "2000-09-04T20:10:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Snetho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Snetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snetho)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-printers/31999/1 "2000-09-04T20:10:54Z")

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Is it true that you hould not put the same piece of paper through a laser printer more than once? If so, why?

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**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-printers/31999/2 "2000-09-04T20:18:57Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Snetho \*  
> \*\*Is it true

Yes.

Laser printers work in general by sprinkling toner dust on the page and then heating the page and dust so that they fuse together.

Based on my 5 years in front-line technical support, I can say from experience that once the page has been fused once, it is _vastly_ more likely to curl the second time through, causing paper jams at the entry to the fuser, which is in most laser printers is the hardest point of extraction.

I cannot explain why duplex laser printers (printers that print on both sides) work, but they do. It could be that they do not fuse the paper until the 2nd time through, it could be that in catching the paper while it’s still warm from the first fusing, they avoid the general problem.

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**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\
**Post date:** [September 4, 2000, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laser-printers/31999/3 "2000-09-04T20:20:02Z")

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