Duel for the dual sided

"Clunk, Rrrrrrrr, clank clank, " and many such groans later "Please check the right, left and middle doors for paper jam" spat the photocopier.

Its the 26th of January 2007, we are well into our 21st century but photocopiers still choke when you try to make "1-2 sided" copies of a 12 page manuscript.

Objective : Turn 12 pages of a document into 6 pages(flip like a book, NOT a calendar) and I dont ask for much, just one frikking copy!

Thank you.

You feed the sheets "facing up" as it politely asks you to, set the "1->2sided" and press "start". And then most photocopiers miss this one vital step that should be taped into all of them that warns-"this is when you cross your fingers and start praying".

It tells you very methodically to have saved each sheet into memory. But its at the spitting out of memory into actually production of turning 1 sided sheets into 2 sided is when something goes haywire! I didnt program it, all photocopiers HAVE this built in. I dont know if these things are QC'ed but I am yet to run into ONE photocopier that has mastered this function like a well oiled machine.

And God save you if you asked it to make 10 copies of this "1->2sided" program. Somewhere amongst assembly language code, this behemoth goes into dysfunctional space. The choking and spluttering you hear in that process really makes you wonder if these machines were developed in caveman times.

And then it sweetly says "Check the right door first", you pull out the right door to find 2 sheets stuck out there"

Next "Close the right door and open the middle door now and pull out tray 2"- You obey the machine and find 2 more sheets stuck there.

Next " Close the middle door and open the left door"- Yes sirree, to find two more sheets out there.

So you've got your 6 sheets with half the content. It warms up for 5 mins after that and settles into a satisfied silence akin to achieving nirvana after a job well done.

One's left to one's discretion of whether to try this all over again OR maybe the printer would behave better(eureka! goes the bulb in your head).

So printing preferences are set to print on both sides(again, like a book and NOT a calendar).

Rush to printer and lo and behold! "Check right door for paper jam."..........