Laser Printer Memory Requirements

The most common problem caused by not having enough memory in a laser printer is when a page of graphics comes out of the printer in strips, on more than one page. (If you were to cut and paste the images together, you would get a complete page.)

About 1 megabyte of memory is needed to print an entire 300 dot per inch (DPI) image on an 8-1/2" x 11" page. In reality, this can vary from about 1/2 Megabyte to 1-1/2 Megabyte depending on the complexity of the graphics, so even 1 Megabyte is sometimes not enough. 8-1/2" x 14" paper will require about 25% more memory.

The only ways to solve this problem are 1) to purchase and install more printer memory, or 2) select a lower resolution for the printer (via File, Printer Setup, Setup). 150 DPI only requires about 256K of printer memory (1/2 the resolution requires 1/4 as much memory), but the quality of a 150 DPI printout is lower than that of a 300 DPI printout.