HP Envy 5052 Unaligned Printing on Cardstock

[malleyind]

HP ENVY 5052 | macOS Sequoia 15.2

The past month or so I have been unable to successfully print on cardstock that I have used for years. The only change I can think of is that I recently updated to macOS Sequoia 15.2.

If i do a alignment test on plain white printer paper, it prints out perfectly. All prints on plain white printer paper print fine. However, if I try and print on cardstock, the alignment is completely cut off and crooked. I tried doing several new alignments on the cardstock and it is still crooked. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the printer and tested again, and nothing has improved. I have tried test prints selecting "Plain white paper" and "Specialty Paper - Matte" and both print with several inches cut off.

[Max3Aj]

Hi @malleyind, Welcome to HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 
It sounds like your HP Envy 5052 is struggling to handle cardstock properly after updating to macOS Sequoia 15.2. Since alignment works fine on plain paper but not on cardstock, the issue likely stems from paper handling rather than a mechanical misalignment.

Try These Steps:

Adjust Paper Settings in macOS & Printer

• Go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners on your Mac.
• Select the HP Envy 5052 and click Options & Supplies.
• In the print dialog when printing, select:
  • Paper Type: Choose Cardstock or Heavyweight Paper if available.
  • Print Quality: Set it to Best to slow down printing and improve alignment.
  • Paper Size: Double-check that it matches your cardstock dimensions.

Manually Feed the Cardstock

• Instead of loading multiple sheets, try printing one sheet at a time.
• Load the cardstock properly: Make sure it’s aligned well in the tray and not too tight or loose.

Use HP Smart or HP Easy Start for a Fresh Install

• Uninstall HP Smart completely:
  • Open Applications > HP Smart, then drag it to Trash.
  • Delete printer from System Settings > Printers & Scanners.
  • Restart your Mac.
• Download and install HP Easy Start from the HP website.
• Re-add the printer and try again.

Disable Borderless Printing

If you are printing borderless, turn it off in the print settings and set margins manually.

Try a Different App

If printing from Preview, try printing from Adobe Acrobat or another app to see if macOS’s print rendering is causing the issue.

Check Firmware Updates

• Open HP Smart, go to Printer Settings, and check for any firmware updates.
• Sometimes, macOS updates affect printer compatibility, and HP may have released a fix.

Reset the Printing System (Last Resort)

If nothing works:

• Go to System Settings > Printers & Scanners.
• Right-click the printer list and choose Reset Printing System.
• Re-add the printer and try printing again.

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Max3Aj

HP Support 

[malleyind · Accepted solution]

Hi @Max3Aj

Unfortunately none of those solutions worked. However, I tried printing the same PDF as before from the Preview app (instead of Adobe Acrobat) and it is printing fine, so it looks like its an issue there. Hopefully this will help anyone else that finds themselves in the same predicament. 

Thanks

[Max3Aj]

@malleyind, That’s great to hear that printing from Preview worked! It sounds like Adobe Acrobat might be handling the page scaling or positioning differently, which could be causing the misalignment.

If you still want to use Acrobat, try checking these settings before printing:

1. Page Size & Handling – Make sure it’s set to Actual Size (not "Fit" or "Shrink oversized pages").
2. Paper Source – Match it with the cardstock setting.
3. Print as Image – Go to Advanced in the print dialog and select Print as Image (this can help with rendering issues).

This might help Acrobat print correctly, but sticking with Preview is a solid workaround too. Thanks for sharing your experience—it'll definitely help others!

Regards,

Max3Aj