Melting plastic on envelopes

[Jasoncnetokc]

When printing envelopes with my M605 HP Printer, it melts the plastic view windows.  Any suggestions?

[John_Getzke]

The envelopes that you are using do not appear to be specced to survive the heat from your laser printer at its current level.

Use different envelopes or adjust the temperature level in the driver properties.  Switching the paper type from a thick media to a thinner media can produce this effect.  Check the specs on the envelope packaging for details and advice on what kind of printing parameters are supported.

[Jasoncnetokc]

So there are different plasyic specs on the envelopes.  I will investigate further.  Thanks.

[John_Getzke]

You bet.

Not all media is intended for laser printers due to the high heat used by the fuser at the end of the pritning process.  It would appear your envelopes are intended for inkjet printers, pending any other information you can find from the envelope manufacturer.

[Jim_Asman]

In "olden days", the window material was made of a paper called glassine, widely used to make complete envelopes to hold photographic negatives that you could evaluate the photo through. It was a little "foggy" like wax paper.

The reason the glassine was abandoned is that it is very difficult for Post Office scanners to reliably read through the glassine. You can probably get an envelope manufacturer to make some for you, but you would eventually have problems with the Post Office.

Today, my needs are very minimal for a window envelope so I simply cover the window with a precisely measured piece to card stock that fits just inside the window. Look for card stock that is as thin as possible with good insulating properties, like blotter paper. Maybe attach it with some tape rolled into a loop so it is something like double sided tape.  As such, use as little tape as possible to secure the card. Hopefully, your tape chunk will last for several envelopes. I use a black masking tap where the adhesive isn't overly "aggressive." further, make sure the tape is completely buried under the card. If your printer has a straight through rear exit, use it. I rarely print more than a batch of 10, but back in the day I did hundreds at a time. Play with it a bit, and you may find you get pretty good at it. 

Obviously, if your demand is large, simply get your local  print shop to print them for you. 

[John_Getzke]

Neat history lesson, thanks for sharing!

[Jasoncnetokc · Accepted solution]

I was looking for the 24 lb stock and in the #10 envelopes. From what I can tell the QUA69222 is compatible with printers. 

[Jim_Asman]

Do the envelope specs specifically state that the widow material can withstand the heat from a laser printer fuser? If not, I would be doubtful these ones will be any more successful.

[Jasoncnetokc]

I had the rep from both Mead and Staples research it.  Here is the email:

Hi Jason,

I was looking for the 24 lb stock and in the #10 envelopes. From what I can tell the QUA69222 is compatible with printers. 

I hope this helps.

Diane 

Trimega support.

[Jim_Asman]

Jason,

You will have to do a test, but my interpretation of the message is that the envelope is flexible enough to wind its way through the printer's path and in no way suggests that the window material has a melting point higher than the laser's fuser. Let us know what your real world testing tells you.