PC LOAD LETTER


PC LOAD LETTER is a printer error message that has entered popular culture as a technology meme referring to a confusing or inappropriate error message. The error message's vagueness was mocked in the 1999 comedy film Office Space.
The message is encountered when printing on older HP LaserJet printers such as the LaserJet II, III, and 4 series. It means that the printer is trying to print a document that needs "Letter size" paper when no Letter size paper is available.
"PC" is an abbreviation for "paper cassette", the tray which holds blank paper for the printer to use. These two-character codes are a legacy feature carried over from the first LaserJet printers, which could only use a two-character display for all printer status and error messages. "LOAD" is an instruction to refill the paper tray. "LETTER" is the standard paper size used in the United States and Canada. Thus, the error is instructing the user to refill the paper tray with letter-sized paper. Another message that might be seen is "MP LOAD LEGAL" meaning the "MP" tray needs to be filled with legal size paper.
Users usually are much more familiar with "PC" meaning Personal computer, and "LETTER" meaning "a short document". Outside the United States and Canada, most paper is A4 size, yet many programs use "Letter" as the default format, so the confusing message is often encountered by users who may not know that LETTER is a paper size at all, and may not have any such paper.
The error can be fixed by emptying the print queue and printer buffer or press "Shift+Continue" and in extreme cases, restart printer and repeat. The LaserJet 5 introduced an easy-to-find "GO" button to override the warning message.
Later LaserJet printers, with a number label on their paper trays, display a new message, "TRAY LOAD PLAIN " where is the tray number. The word "PLAIN" seems to have been added in an attempt to make it less confusing.