How to Put Paper in a Printer: Which Side Up, Which Way, and Every Paper Type

Quick answer: To put paper in a printer, fan the stack, slide the paper guides out, and load the paper short edge first in portrait orientation, below the max-fill line. Then slide the guides in until they just touch the stack. Which side faces up depends on the tray: front drawers and cassettes usually take paper print side down, while rear or top feeders and manual feed slots take it print side up. Finally, tell the printer what size and type you loaded.

Published November 12, 2026 · By Lauren Elward, Castle Ink

Key Takeaways

• Front drawer or cassette: usually print side down. The sheet makes a U-turn inside the printer and comes out flipped.
• Rear or top feeder (the slanted tray on the back): print side up, short edge first.
• Manual feed or bypass slot: print side up on most models, including Brother lasers.
• The paper icon molded into the tray beats any rule of thumb. When in doubt, mark an X on one sheet and run a test print.
• Guides should be snug, not tight, and the stack must sit under the max-fill line. Most feeding problems come from these two things.
• Load one paper type at a time, and set the matching paper size and type on the printer or in the print dialog.

How Do You Put Paper in a Printer?

You put paper in a printer by fanning and squaring the stack, opening the paper guides, sliding the stack in short edge first until it stops, and closing the guides against it. The steps are the same on almost every home and office printer; only the tray location and which side faces up change.

1. Fan and square the stack. Riffle the edges so sheets aren't stuck together, then tap the stack on a desk until the edges line up. Brother tells owners to "fan the stack of paper well" before loading, and Canon warns that misaligned edges can cause jams.
2. Open the tray and slide the guides out. Pull the drawer out, or raise the rear support. Push the width guide (and the length guide, if there is one) all the way out.
3. Load the paper short edge first, centered, in portrait orientation. Push it in until it stops. Check the tray icon for which side faces up (see the next section).
4. Keep the stack under the max-fill line. It's a line or a row of triangles on the inside of the guide. Brother says plainly that "overfilling the paper tray will cause paper jams."
5. Slide the guides in until they touch the paper. Snug, not squeezed. Canon cautions against pushing the guides "too hard against the paper," because the sheets will bow and misfeed.
6. Close the tray or feeder cover. Many rear feeders have a guard or feed-slot cover that must be closed before the printer will pull paper.
7. Confirm the paper size and type. Many printers pop up a prompt when a tray closes. Match it to what you loaded, and choose the same paper in your print dialog.

Which Side of the Paper Goes Up in a Printer?

It depends on the tray. In a front drawer or cassette, paper usually goes in print side down because the sheet curls around a roller and flips before it's printed. In a rear or top feeder or a manual feed slot, paper goes in print side up because it travels a fairly straight path.

Here's what the manufacturers' own manuals say:

Exceptions exist, especially on office lasers with several trays, so trust the little paper icon on the tray or inside the guide over any chart. Plain copy paper usually has no "wrong" side, so this matters most for photo paper, letterhead, labels, sticker paper and pre-printed forms.

The X test: how to find the print side on any printer

Draw a small X in pencil near the top edge of one sheet. Load it X-side up with the X at the end that goes in first, then print any one-page document. If the ink lands on the X side, your tray prints the side facing up. You've also learned which edge prints first, which is what you need for letterhead and pre-printed forms.

Which Way Do You Put Paper in a Printer: Portrait or Landscape?

Load standard paper in portrait orientation, short edge first, even when you're printing a landscape document. The printer rotates the page image, not the paper. Epson's instructions are typical: "Load paper short edge first." Canon puts it more bluntly: "Always load paper in the portrait orientation." To print sideways, change the orientation in the print dialog instead; our guide to printing in landscape shows where the setting lives in Word, Google Docs, PDFs and phones.

How Do You Load Paper in an HP, Canon, Epson or Brother Printer?

HP

Most HP OfficeJet, OfficeJet Pro and ENVY models have a pull-out front tray: lift the output tray, slide the width guides out, insert the stack print side down and short edge forward until it stops, then close the guides. DeskJet 2700, 2800 and 4100 models use an upright tray at the back. Raise it and load the stack short edge down and print side up, against the right side of the tray. HP's own support guidance adds two rules worth following on any brand: never load more than one type of paper at a time, and never load paper while the printer is printing.

Canon

Many PIXMA models have both a rear tray (print side up; photo paper and envelopes usually go here) and a front cassette (print side down; plain paper). After closing the feed slot cover, Canon asks you to register the paper size and type for that tray. If the setting and the print job don't match, the printer stops with an error rather than printing on the wrong paper.

Epson

EcoTank and Expression models usually load from a rear paper feeder: flip up the paper support, open the feeder guard if there is one, slide the edge guide out, and load the paper centered, printable side up, short edge first. Don't stack plain paper above the line just under the triangle mark on the edge guide. Some EcoTank and WorkForce models also have a front cassette that takes paper print side down.

Brother

Brother lasers (HL-L2350DW, MFC-L2750DW and similar) load plain paper print side down in the drawer under the printer, below the maximum paper mark. Heavier paper, envelopes and labels go one sheet at a time through the manual feed slot, print side up, until the front edge touches the feed roller. Brother inkjets (MFC-J series) use a front tray; press the paper guides to fit and load print side down.

Not sure which kind of printer you have? Our one-minute guide Is my printer inkjet or laser? will tell you.

How Do You Put Photo Paper in a Printer?

Load photo paper with the glossy or coated side as the print side: glossy side down in a front tray or photo tray, glossy side up in a rear feeder. Load a small stack (10 to 20 sheets is plenty), and choose the matching photo paper type in the print dialog so the printer uses the right amount of ink.

• 4x6 and 5x7: many HP and Epson models have a small photo tray or a guide that slides in for small sizes. Load the short edge first and pull the length guide against the back of the stack.
• Glossy, matte or luster? See glossy vs. matte vs. luster photo paper for which finish to buy.
• Prints smearing or looking dull? That almost always means the paper was loaded upside down or the paper type setting is wrong.

Need paper? Shop 4x6 inkjet photo paper on Amazon.

How Do You Put Envelopes in a Printer?

Feed envelopes one at a time or in a small stack, in the tray your manual names for envelopes, with the address side as the print side. In an Epson rear feeder, the instructions are "printable side up, short edge first, and flap facing down." In a front tray, envelopes usually go address side down with the flap up, and the icon shows which end goes in first. On a Brother laser, use the manual feed slot, address side up.

Always print a test on plain paper first. Hold it over the envelope against a window to check that the address lands where you want it.

How Do You Load Letterhead or Pre-Printed Paper?

Use the X test above to learn which side and which edge your tray prints first, then load letterhead the same way: logo side as the print side, logo edge first. For two-sided printing on letterhead, the orientation changes again, so print a two-page test before running a whole stack. Our double-sided printing guide explains how manual duplexing flips the page.

Can You Put Construction Paper, Cardstock or Notebook Paper in a Printer?

Yes, most printers can take construction paper and light cardstock if the sheet is cut to a size the printer supports and it's fed through the straightest path available. Notebook paper is riskier because torn spiral edges and holes catch on the rollers.

Laser printers deserve extra care with craft paper. The fuser heats each sheet to melt the toner, so avoid anything with glitter, plastic coatings or adhesive that isn't rated for laser printers. Our guide to inkjet vs. laser paper explains why.

How Much Paper Can You Put in a Printer?

Fill the tray only up to the max-fill line marked inside it, however many sheets that turns out to be. The line already allows for standard 20 lb copy paper. Heavier paper and photo paper fill the tray faster, so load fewer sheets. If your printer says it's out of paper when the tray is full, it's often because the stack is too high or the guides are pinching it. See why your printer says it's out of paper when it's not.

Why Won't My Printer Take the Paper I Loaded?

A printer that won't pull in paper usually has a loading problem, not a broken part. Check these in order:

1. Guides too tight or too loose. Tight guides bow the stack; loose ones let it skew.
2. Stack too high. Take out a handful of sheets.
3. Mixed paper. Two paper types or weights in one stack cause double feeds.
4. Curled or damp paper. Flip the stack over or use fresh paper from a sealed ream. See how to store printer paper.
5. Tray setting mismatch. If the printer expects photo paper and you loaded plain paper, it may refuse the job.
6. Dirty pickup rollers. Follow our feed roller cleaning guide.
7. A torn scrap inside. If a jam has already happened, clear it with our paper jam guide by brand.

Do You Need to Tell the Printer What Paper You Loaded?

Yes, whenever it isn't plain letter paper. The paper type setting controls how much ink the printer lays down and how fast it prints, and the size setting tells it where the page edges are. A wrong size is a common cause of cut-off edges, and a wrong type causes smeared or washed-out photos. Set both in the print dialog under "Paper," "Media" or "Quality," and on printers that ask, at the control panel when you close the tray.

Frequently Asked Questions

More on paper itself: Printer Paper 101: weight, brightness, finish and size, paper sizes explained, and is copy paper the same as printer paper?

Paper Loaded? Keep the Ink Stocked

A full paper tray doesn't help much when a cartridge runs dry halfway through a job. Castle Ink sells remanufactured ink cartridges and compatible toner for the major brands, and orders placed by 4 PM ET Monday–Friday ship the same day:

• HP ink cartridges
• Canon ink cartridges
• Epson ink cartridges
• Brother ink cartridges and Brother toner
• Not sure what your printer takes? Use Find ink by printer.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Castle Ink earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Sources

• Canon: Loading Paper in the Rear Tray (PIXMA TS6100 series online manual)
• Epson: Loading Paper in the Rear Paper Feeder (EcoTank user's guide)
• Epson: How should I load envelopes? (ET-2840)
• Brother: Load Paper in the Paper Tray (online user's guide)
• Brother: Load Paper in the Manual Feed Slot (MFC-L2750DW online user's guide)
• HP: HP printers – loading paper (HP Customer Support)
• HP: HP OfficeJet Pro 9730 User Guide, loading paper