Are you running into any of these printing problems?

• Paper is jamming in my printer
• Can’t set my paper size in the print driver
• Colors are not as vivid as expected

It may be that a different paper input tray or other feeding mechanism is recommended for the type and size paper that you’re trying to print.

Are you printing from the correct tray to accommodate your paper?

Often, consumer grade printers use multiple paper sources that are dependent on the particular printing jobs. For example, we reviewed a Canon Pixma iX7000 large format printer with three different paper trays, all used for different print jobs depending on the size, weight, and type of paper to be printed.

A Different Paper Tray for a Different Job

In the printer driver, you may find that when you select a certain paper size or a certain paper type (like photo paper, plain paper, envelopes, etc.) the driver will force use of another paper tray.

Try selecting one of the trays and seeing what printing options are available for that tray. You may find more useful printing options for one particular tray than for another. For example, while reviewing the Canon iX7000 printer mentioned above, we found:

The rear tray does not utilize the additional clear ink cartridge (PGR Technology cartridge). On some paper stocks, colors are slightly less vivid than they are if printed using the cassette or manual trays.

One Tray May Provide a Straighter Paper Path

With printers that have more than one tray, using one or the other may provide a straighter path for the paper to travel, allowing for better printing on heavy card stock, envelopes, etc., and eliminating paper jams.

Exactly which paper tray should I use for my printing?

You must read your printer’s manual to see what types of printing are recommended in its tray(s).

Still need help? See other common printing problems and get our best advice:

• Printing Invitations? How To Create A Custom Document Size
• How do I enter a custom paper size in my print driver?
• Can’t enter custom paper size in your printer driver? Download new printer driver
• When printing invitations does your text cut off, print wrong?
• Can my printer handle the card size I want to print?
• What is the appropriate paper thickness for my printer?
• Should I adjust Paper Type in my print driver to print specialty paper?
• When printing invitations should scaling be turned on?
• My invitation card is printing off-center. What can I do?