A laser diode/pre-scan assembly associated with a printhead for a laser printer is presented. The laser diode/pre-scan assembly includes a pair of collimation lenses that are de-centered from the axes of a pair of laser beams to direct the pair of beams inwardly in a process direction and into a single pre-scan lens. A corresponding method of constructing a laser diode/pre-scan assembly for a laser printer is also presented.