Form Factor
To achieve a reasonably compact form factor, the tail end of the cassette has been designed to extend out from the engine footprint (A). Consequently, the pickup rollers feed from the insertion end of the cassette (B), similar to the LaserWriter II. This arrangement influences the architecture of the printer in the following ways.
1 Because pickup occurs deep within the printer, all mechanical drive elements are arranged vertically along the rear (C), resulting in a simple C-shaped paper path. This vertical arrangement yields a compact, low-maintenance gear train, consisting at its essence of one gear assembly driven by one central motor.
2 You can stack letter-sized paper on the multipurpose tray and shut the cover (D), thus hiding that paper from view inside a multipurpose "compartment."
- A
3 The design of the cassette bottom plate (A) is new.
Below the plate, three springs provide upward pressure that forces the paper against the pickup rollers. (Only two of the springs are activated when the width guides (B) are set for narrower paper). In most printers, the bottom plate receives constant uniform pressure from the springs. As you insert the cassette, the paper snugly and passively presses against the pickup rollers.
With this printer, however, the bottom plate must stay down during insertion to avoid snagging. The springs are released, and the bottom plate elevated against the pickup rollers, only when the cassette is fully inserted.
This spring release is actuated by a latch on each side of the cassette near the leading edge (C). See "Cassette" in the Basics chapter for more information.
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Long-Edge Feed (LEF)
Short-Edge Feed (SEF)
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