Bypass tray

A bypass tray—also called a manual feed tray—is a specialized paper input on copiers, printers, or scanners that allows users to feed paper or other media directly into the machine without using the standard, fully loaded paper drawers. It is especially useful for handling non-standard media such as label sheets, tabbed dividers, heavy card stock, envelopes, transparencies, pre-punched paper, or specialty letterhead.

The bypass tray is typically located on the side or front of the machine and can usually hold a small stack of sheets (often 1–100 pages, depending on the model). Because the paper path is often straighter than with regular trays, it reduces the risk of jams or bending—important for thicker or delicate media.

By using the bypass tray, users can:

• Print on special media without unloading or reconfiguring the main paper trays.
• Run small jobs or test prints without interrupting large print runs.
• Quickly switch paper sizes or types for one-off tasks.

In modern multifunction printers, the bypass tray also supports manual duplexing (flipping paper manually for double-sided printing) and can often detect the paper type or size for more accurate printing.