Okay to use previously soaked (now dry) paper in laser printer?

[Andrepartthree]

My apologies to all this is probably the stupidest question in the world , but...

We had an unfortunate incident where our water heater had a BIG leak... about 9,500 sheets of paper got wet , the kind that I normally put through my laser printers without any problems (when the paper is dry that is ! )

The paper appears to be drying out without any noticeable "wrinkles" or "crinkles" on it that would jam up the printer. Our printers are black and white, not color (Samsung ML-2010, Dell b1160w, and one other printer model I can't remember - we have three of them )

I'm wondering if it would be safe to run this paper through a printer once it is thoroughly dry? Or am I just asking for trouble?

Thanks very much to anyone who's taking the time to read this !

 

[The Hat]

The normal moisture content of copy paper is 4%, so if you reckon your paper has now returned to that level, then it is safe to use, otherwise use it in an inkjet printer or dump it.

Moisture plays havoc with the toner and drum in most Laser printers, and can render the equipment inoperative, so do you want to risk having to get a new drum and toner cartridge..

 

[PeterBJ]

If you google "acclimatize paper" you will find a lot of instructions from paper companies, for instance like this. Paper shouldn't be used immediately after purchase, it should be allowed to acclimatize before use.

I have had problems with freshly bought paper in an inkjet printer. The paper had been bought in winter and had been in the trunk of a car for several hours after purchase. The printer would pick up more than one sheet at a time. After a couple of days of acclimatizing the paper was OK to use. But maybe paper that has been soaked shouldn't be used at all?

I don't know if a reasonably priced moisture content meter can be found? Or if it would be OK to use the paper if it feels the same way as known good and dry paper?

 

[The Hat]

When you first purchase a ream of paper and take it home, open it immediately and pull out 50/100 sheets and leave them exposed to the room temperature its going to be used in, and before inserting into the printer always fan the paper first, that prevents more than one sheet been feed in at a time.

Always use copy paper in your printers, never use the older bond papers, because in an inkjet, it will give much poorer quality output and when used in a laser printer it will constantly jam up...