A laser printer having a rotating mirror (116) and a heat fuser (220) is operated with a sequence of standby conditions. At the end of a print job mirror (116) is continued to be rotated at printing speed while the temperature of fuser (220) is reduced somewhat. This is maintained for a short time, after which the speed of rotation of mirror (116) is reduced significantly and the fuser (220) temperature is reduced significantly. This is maintained for a time, after which the mirror is no longer rotated (or, if practical, is rotated very slowly) and the fuser temperature is further reduced. At any time when a subsequent print job is received, the mirror and fuser are brought to printing state and the period of times are next started from a beginning state.