Abstract: A modular, customer installable bypass paper transport allows printed output from a printer to bypass an output tray of the printer and pass directly into a separate finisher so as to ensure no detrimental impact on the IOT of the printer when the units are coupled or decoupled. The bypass transport fits into an output tray of the finisher and is powered by the printer. Alignment is accomplished by the use of two switches on the mating end of the bypass transport that have plunger type actuators that are actuated with minimal contact with the separate finisher in order to indicate correct or incorrect docking of the separate finisher with the bypass transport.