Fault diagnosis
Pages coming out creased.
Paper leaving the machine folded, concertinaed or badly curled means something in the path is gripping unevenly — or the paper was in poor shape before it started.
Creasing usually means the paper is being gripped unevenly through the fuser — worn or contaminated fuser rollers, or a worn exit roller pulling harder on one side. Damp paper creases far more readily, and paper heavier than the driver setting expects will buckle as it heats. Try a fresh sealed ream before anything else.
Read the crease
- A single fold along the direction of travel — usually the fuser or exit rollers gripping unevenly
- Concertina, several folds — the paper is being pushed faster than it is being pulled; a roller is slipping
- Curl rather than crease — heat and moisture, often normal to a degree
- Only on double-sided — the duplex path, where paper travels further and has already been heated once
Paper first
Damp paper is soft and creases easily. It also curls as the fuser drives moisture out, and a curled sheet catches on the way out.
- Fresh ream from a sealed pack
- Store paper wrapped, not open in a humid room
- Check the weight is within what the machine supports
- Set the correct media type — heavy stock needs a different fuser profile
In Chennai humidity this accounts for a genuine share of "faults" that turn out not to be faults.
If paper is not the cause
Fuser rollers
Worn or contaminated rollers grip unevenly across the width and the sheet buckles. Usually alongside smudging or ghosting.
Exit rollers
If one side has worn more than the other, the sheet is pulled at an angle as it leaves.
Something in the path
A torn fragment from an earlier jam, or a foreign object, deflecting the sheet. Very common and easily missed.
Curl in the duplex path
Paper that has already been through the fuser once is drier and more curled going into the second pass. Some machines have a curl-reduction setting worth enabling.
Worth knowing
Creasing that started suddenly, on paper that has not changed, usually means a physical obstruction rather than gradual wear. Worth mentioning when you call — it changes where we look first.
Common questions
Why does my printer crease every page?
Something is gripping the paper unevenly, usually in the fuser or the exit rollers. Damp paper makes it far worse, so try a fresh sealed ream to eliminate that first.
Pages come out curled but not creased.
Some curl is normal — the fuser drives moisture out of the sheet. Excessive curl usually means damp paper or a media setting that is running the fuser hotter than needed.
It only creases on double-sided printing.
The duplex path. The sheet has already been heated once, so it is drier and more curled going into the second pass. Check for a curl-reduction setting.
It started suddenly with the same paper I always use.
That points at an obstruction rather than wear — often a fragment from an earlier jam. Worth saying when you call.
Tell us what it is doing.
Call and describe the make and the symptom — most jobs are done in a single visit, and we will tell you straight if it is not worth repairing.