Prints slowly on smaller paper

[CLOKC]

My HP 404n works just fine printing on 8-1/2 x 11" paper.  When I put the exact same stock in it, cut in half to 4-1/4 x 11, it prints VERY slowly (about 2 ppm).  Obviously to senses the difference in paper size but why does it slow to a crawl???  I keep having to swap it out with a cheap Brother printer to print my narrow pages.  Crazy!

[Repairatrooper]

That behaviour is to prevent premature fuser failure. When printing on narrow media, the outside edges of the fuser will get too hot because there is no media to wick heat out of the fuser rollers. By going slower, the printer can use less heat and this mitigates excessive wear caused by narrow media. It is a design choice but more customers are likely to be angry at a premature failure than they are a slower speed when printing narrow media.