HP 5520 Printing Card Stock: Settings

[brisualso]

Hello. I have an HP photosmart 5520 printer, and I'm trying to print on card stock (80 lb, 8.5 x 11 in, heavy weight, 216 gsm); however, I'm not sure which settings to choose when selecting paper quality as there is no "card stock" option. Any ideas? There is Matte Greeting Card option, would that work? I'm at a loss.

[Dragon-Fur]

@brisualso 

Solution

Unfortunately, it does not matter that there is not an easy Media selection - the paper is too heavy for the printer.

Printer Specifications for HP Photosmart, Deskjet 5520 Printers

  Paper tray capacities

Tray	Type	Weight	Capacity
Input tray	Paper	75 to 90 g/m² (20 to 24 lb)	Up to 80 sheets
Transparencies	n/a	Up to 40 sheets
Photo paper	Up to 280 g/m² (75 lb bond)	Up to 30 sheets
Envelopes	75 to 90 g/m² (20 to 24 lb)	Up to 5 envelopes
Cards	Up to 200 g/m² (110 lb index)	Up to 40 cards
Output tray	Paper	n/a	Up to 15 sheets
Photo paper	n/a	Up to 10 sheets
Envelopes	n/a	Up to 5 envelopes

Yeah, but:

You cannot select "photo" paper to fool the printer - printer will mostly check for photo paper and reject your job if you are lying about "photo paper" in the tray.

If you can find some paper that is within the weight limits, you can choose the Card paper or perhaps other "heavy" paper (brochure matte is typically 180 gsm and the selection can sometimes be used for "card paper" printing).

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HP Photosmart 5520 e-All-in-One Printer series 

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[brisualso]

@Dragon-Fur

I test printed and the printer took the paper just fine. I just would like to know the best setting to put as the "paper quality" setting.

[Dragon-Fur]

@brisualso 

Edits - trying to clarify / understand the final question

Excellent - you got away with it.  Nice.

Really, you are done - the printer is doing what you want.

As to the rest, you are the best judge - considering the weight of the paper does exceed the limit, I'd not go beyond "normal" quality (as compared to "best" or "draft").

What else?

"Best" for your printer is relative to the choices available in your printer software. 

Are you trying to select / decide on Media type (kind of paper)?

Consider any "heavy paper" setting that is close to the "card stock" you are using.

For example,

Heavy paper

Thick Paper 

Brochure matte 

Professional Paper

Card Index

Example - Officejet Pro 8740 - tab Paper / Quality choices

Printing_Preferences_Quality-Paper_Custom_1

The printer is tolerating the paper and that is the "best" outcome already.

What else is "best" really depends on what you can get the printer to do / accept / tolerate.

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We are a world community of volunteers dedicated to supporting HP technology.