Can I laser print on top of already laser printed pages?

[aab1]

I want to print cards on 8.5x11 paper that I would then cut, but before cutting them I would want to print individual ID codes on each card on the sheet. Can I print the page once to print the card design, and then run it through the printer again to print the ID codes on the same side (on areas that would have been left blank for this purpose)? Would that cause any problems with the fuser or anywhere else that there would be already fused toner in addition to "fresh" toner?

Thanks

[OMD-227]

This is a highly debated topic.

From my experience, if the same page is going back through the same printer, it will be OK. But that depends on the actual printer, as others have said this does not work. It also depends on wether the upper fuser roller is aluminium, rubber or a plastic film. Each of these have different toner repelling qualities, as well as color vs b/w as there are temperature differences.
If the page is printed on a different printer first, you can definitely have troubles with ghosting or toner peeling.
If the page is printed on an inkjet first then run through a laser printer, it tends to make the ink run out of the paper, onto the fuser rollers and cause a repeating image down the page.

Its a case of trial and error. You are not going to cause any problems to the fuser, unless its a media that is not supported by the printer.

[aab1]

I guess I'll give it a try and if it doesn't work I'll either inkjet print the codes on top which definitely won't cause any problem as long as I don't print over an area that has toner or I can print the codes on my thermal label printer and stick the ID code stickers to the card but that would look less professional.

[Lotec]

[aab1]

In that case I won't even try it, I'll just inkjet print the codes on top of the laser printed cards on an area left blank, I think it's the best solution.

It would be more work having to change the card design for each individual card than just reprint the codes on top of a standard card template.

[andym]

I agree with the software option. How about scanning the original and using software like Photoshop or GIMP?

Toner over injet isn't going to do any harm. But passing toner through the fuser twice may damage the fuser.

[OMD-227]

Seriously guys..... what do you think double siding is? That is still paper passing through the fuser rollers twice. Of course it can be done, provided the paper & printer used are the same (just like I said above). There are issues when using different laser printers vs different fuser roller designs vs different media types.

aab1 is only using small laser printers, not some huge Oce that costs sh*tloads more. You are not going to cause any problems with what I read from your original post, provided it is done on the same printer. If the paper is good quality and you are just passing it through for a second pass with more info to be printed, it will work.

[aab1]

Seriously guys..... what do you think double siding is? That is still paper passing through the fuser rollers twice. Of course it can be done, provided the paper & printer used are the same (just like I said above). There are issues when using different laser printers vs different fuser roller designs vs different media types.

aab1 is only using small laser printers, not some huge Oce that costs sh*tloads more. You are not going to cause any problems with what I read from your original post, provided it is done on the same printer. If the paper is good quality and you are just passing it through for a second pass with more info to be printed, it will work.

Thanks for the details, but isn't double sided different in that the toner is applied to the other side of the paper and not the same side? My copier does do automatic double sided printing.

[OMD-227]

yes, but the paper is still passing through the fuser twice on the same job. Yours is passing through twice, just manually the second time around. The fuser is still running at the same temperature. If its coming from paper already passed through your printer, it will work. You are not using huge color copiers here, you are using a small home office laser printer aren't you? It will most likely have a film fuser roller in it. This will work, provided it has come from this printer already and the paper is within spec of machine capabilities.

Everyone seems so worried about this and causing massive unrepairable damage to the machine, when in reality, I've done this many times perfectly fine. Years ago, I proved it to a very picky client who was mixing originals from inkjet to a HP LJ1200 (film fuser) and it was ghosting. As soon as the original was printed on the LJ1200 and passed back through (sometimes days later) it was fine.

[aab1]

yes, but the paper is still passing through the fuser twice on the same job. Yours is passing through twice, just manually the second time around. The fuser is still running at the same temperature. If its coming from paper already passed through your printer, it will work. You are not using huge color copiers here, you are using a small home office laser printer aren't you? It will most likely have a film fuser roller in it. This will work, provided it has come from this printer already and the paper is within spec of machine capabilities.

Everyone seems so worried about this and causing massive unrepairable damage to the machine, when in reality, I've done this many times perfectly fine. Years ago, I proved it to a very picky client who was mixing originals from inkjet to a HP LJ1200 (film fuser) and it was ghosting. As soon as the original was printed on the LJ1200 and passed back through (sometimes days later) it was fine.

So are both fuser rollers identical? I would have thought that maybe the roller that passes on the printed side might be different than the roller on the other side.

[OMD-227]

exactly.

On those small laser printers, many of them have a film plastic fuser upper roller and a rubber lower roller (mainly because its cheap to manufacture and they dont last forever.... forcing you to spend money on another one or repairs).

There are many different fuser designs including film, aluminium, belt, rubber........all having different capabilities and costs. The SOHO stuff like your machine is made cheap, so it has some limitations, but printing what you want to do will work fine. I'd be very surprised if it didnt, but the only thing you'll get is a ghosting issue if anything, not damage to the fuser rollers.

[blackcat4866]

The biggest problem I've seen with this issue is when someone prints some of the image on a full color MFP (with a 160C fixing temperature), than tries to re-run those same pages through a different B&W MFP (with a higher 190C fixing temperature). Some of the first image transfers onto the fuser rollers causing ghosting of the original color image. Also the second pickup causes a 35mm wide smudge, where the MP separation pad smears some of the first image at the leading edge on the back of the page, and continues to transfer it to subsequent pages. That's why copier manufacturers came up with automatic duplexing. The MP tray rollers and pad can be cleaned, but will continue to pickup toner residue from previous images. It's unavoidable. =^..^=

[OMD-227]

Thats the main point I have been trying to get across. The same machine should have little to no problems, its when a different machine type is used for each pass.
If the machine in question has a separation roller instead of separation pad there will be less issues too.

[songela]

What is the reason for all this long discussion, have you forgotten that every machine works the way its manufacturer desired-n-designed it to perform. I believe that, are the machine specs which rules what to, and what not to do with a particular model. In the specifications you'll find overlays, OHP, card printing etc. In fact when you go looking for a new printer, you consult the specs to determine which model fits your particular requirements!
Regards!

[blackcat4866]

What is the reason for all this long discussion, have you forgotten that every machine works the way its manufacturer desired-n-designed it to perform. I believe that, are the machine specs which rules what to, and what not to do with a particular model. In the specifications you'll find overlays, OHP, card printing etc. In fact when you go looking for a new printer, you consult the specs to determine which model fits your particular requirements!
Regards!

In a perfect world, yes.

But in the world we live in, the salesman promises, or the buyer imagines that a machine may be suitable, then they put the responsibility onto the tech to live up to these imagined criterion. Read the specs, or an operators manual? Are you mad? This guy is a printer and had no concept of the media types or variable meaning of the lb designation. He does the majority of his printing on a $95 inkjet.

Or the machine proves perfectly suitable for the initial criterion. Now why can't we print onto those spare chunks of particle board? And why not? Wood is like paper, sort of. This guy wants to buy a $700 color MFP to do the same tasks as a $15K to $20K full sized machine. Sorry! That $14K difference is price means major differences in the machine. Who'd a thought? =^..^=