It often amazes “youngsters” and what we take for granted today is the democratization of the “Home Office “afforded by the modern introduction of computers.

Not long ago to set up a company was a major ordeal.

First a downtown high rent location was essential for both appearances and visibility and to “rub shoulders” with the movers and shakers.

Secondly one had to have a receptionist greet customers as well as answer and direct phone calls.

Lastly there were the intrinsic assurances of the basic competency and integrity of the firm - a letterhead on printed stock paper was first. Letters that were received from the firm with the distinctive font of an IBM “Selectric ““Ball Typewriter”.

By the way that simple typewriter cost approximately $ 3,000 which in the 70's was the price of a Japanese economy car.

Consider that all of this can be done by one or two persons in a low rent, residential basement home office and you can see the importance of presentation in clinching deals and dollar volumes of business.

With a little extra preparation and thought you can appear to be in the same league as the “Big Boys”.

How is anyone else halfway around the world with a business or purchase decision to know otherwise?

Remember that it is often said “First impressions are everything”.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Paper for the Office Laser Printer

The first step is to understand the printing process.

Laser printers rely on electrical charge to hold the toner to the paper, and then hear and pressure to fuse the toner to the page. So it stands to reason that good laser paper will have special electrical and heat resistant properties similar to a photo copier setup.

Brightness is rated according to the amount of light reflected by the paper. A sheet with a brightness rating of 90 % reflects 90 % of the light striking it: a high brightness rating makes for a high contrast between the page and the ink, Color paper may be misleading as to brightness, because a dark purple sheet does not reflect light as well as a light tan of the same rating.

Electrical resistance comes from a number of factors in the papermaking process. Paper manufacturing can either add resistant chemicals to the surface of the paper or mix them into the paper itself. The moisture content of the paper has a significant impact on paper's resistance, which is why print quality can vary with humidity - the same printed page can be printed differently in summer rather than winter, in Florida or South Dakota, in a cool air-conditioned office or in a sweatshop.

Moisture affects another aspect of the laser printing process: paper feeding. The greater the moisture content of paper, the more prone it is to curl. And as a result if the paper has too much “curled” it is more prone to jamming the printer.

As a result, it is important that you store paper carefully – if possible in a cool, dark place and to take care to close the packaging on partial reams.

The paper making process creates paper that has two distinctly different sides, though the difference is not always obvious to the eye or touch.

The top is called the “felt” side and the bottom is called the “wire” side.

The rule is to print on the “wire” side first. Look on the label at the front of the ream wrapper for an arrow indicating the “wire” side. Keep this in mind when loading your printer's paper trays. Be aware of course whether your printer trays load from the face-up or face-down positions.

Another factor to consider that will affect paper jamming is the weight of the paper.

The basis weight is a standard measure based on 500 sheets of paper. Most paper is rated at 20 pounds m, although some higher quality papers can be heavier.

Paper that is rated too light or too heavy will of course be more likely to jam. Many people assume that “weight:” means the same thing as “thickness” and “stiffness”. It is true that these three measures correlate together.

However these factors are not the same.

“Stiffness “is a measure of how much a paper resists bending whereas thickness describes physical dimension. It is quite possible to have three sheets of different 20 pound paper – one can be significantly stiffer than the others, another can be noticeable thicker.

One can of course sum up this article by stating “Check your printer's user manual” or “check with the manufacturer”.

This is true. The basics of life are usually quite simple.

For the prosperity and success of your home office business remember the importance of first impressions and presentation.

Often the simple choice of choosing the right paper for your home office laser printer can be the determining factor whether you or your competitor gets those orders.