jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have a nice HP C5280 (from 2008) scanner/printer that I use mainly for printing on disks. Since the color output is better than my Canon iP4500 (from 2008), I use the HP for printing color prints. I used up all my Kodak glossy paper and opened a pack of Canon glossy. The printer jammed immediately, and it kept jamming. If it wasn't jamming, it was telling me that there was no paper loaded.

Looking online, I tried all the suggestions. The one that worked best was unplugging the printer for thirty seconds, but even that was hit or miss. Everything inside the printer is clean. One thing that seemed to help a bit was removing the rear door - where the paper must make a U-turn - and giving it a good washing and drying. I'm almost finished printing, but it's frustrating not knowing how many pages I will get before it stops. I'm printing calendars for five people, so that's sixty pages.

I tried plain paper, and that worked fine. Without going out to the garage to get my micrometer, I'm pretty sure the Canon paper is a bit thicker than the Kodak, but I've printed lots of card stock on the HP with no trouble. I used up the twenty-five sheets of Canon, so I'll have to look in the cabinet and see what else I have. The funny thing is, I'll be getting a new pack of Canon paper from Amazon on Monday - 100 sheets!

I'm not looking for a solution because I suspect the thickness of the Canon paper is causing this problem. I'm just passing along my experience in case this happens to you.

EDIT: As I was opening a new pack of Jet PrintPhoto paper, I unplugged the printer and left it unplugged for a couple of minutes. As soon as I plugged it in and turned it on, it started printing the job it couldn't finish yesterday. Unplugging is supposed to reset the printer and clear its memory. This paper is considerably thinner and not as glossy, but it doesn't jam.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

That is so bazaar. All my printers are Canon so I've never experienced a problem with Canon paper. Does manually feeding 1 sheet at a time work? I know that doesn't sound like much of a solution but if it works, at least you can get the job done.

w8vln

OK about your jam ups,
I have had the same situation. You have to get a flashlight and look into the paper input AND output to see if there is actually a torn piece of paper there.

If there is NONE then the computer has RECORDED the jam up and as you say unplug the printer for one minute and plug it back in.

Then ,,,,if the problem still persists, the computer has the recorded (file of the jam.)

I have found IF I re-install the Printer software DISK then the printer works like new without the jam up notice. good luck Larry

jmvaugh Loc: Albuquerque

It might be the orientation of the Canon paper. I had that problem at work with an HP printer. Just a shot - but try turning the blank paper around and it might just feed better. Best of luck - printers can drive you crazy.🙁

ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

I worked in the office equipment service industry for 33 years. It was my experience that printers/copiers that have a U-turn or a sharp turn in the paper path are very picky about the paper stock they will accept. You mentioned cleaning the paper guide, but I didn't see you mention cleaning the rubber feed rollers. When you are trying to get thick stock to go through, everything has to be clean. Try cleaning the rubber feed rollers with isopropyl alcohol. That may or may not help, and you may find you have t clean them frequently. Once the Canon paper is gone, go back to either HP paper rated for the printer, or that Kodak paper you know works.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Nope.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Right. That sharp turn is a killer, but every printer I've owned has had the paper enter and exit from the front - all making U-turns.

I cleaned all the rollers - using distilled water. They said that alcohol could damage the rollers - same for tap water. I was surprised that the rollers were so clean.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, I tried that, too. Unfortunately, since it's photo paper, I can't flip it over.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have lots of bright little flashlights around, and I looked into everything. Since it seems to work fine with any paper other than the Canon, I'll leave well enough along. I just hope the 100 sheets I receive on Monday are not too thick.

ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

Distilled water will get the surface dirt off, but to remove any glazing or chemical deposits you have to use alcohol. The problem with alcohol is that eventually you do have to change out the rollers. But cleaning with water is not very effective.

I purchased an Epson printer a few years back that is designed for photo printing on heavier stock. It's paper path is straight through.

Good luck, paper jamming is extremely frustrating, especially when it's because of the paper stock.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The Canon paper I used is 69lb. The paper coming Monday is 53 lb, so that should be fine.

The Watcher

Thicker and perhaps a little slicker, making it where the rollers can't get enough traction to get the paper around the bend.
Here's another consideration unrelated to your printer. When I compare Epson premium glossy paper and Canon glossy II paper at my viewing station, you can see that the canon paper is brighter, with the Epson seeming to have a purer white. Another interesting observation...... For the past week there’s been two 8.5x11 sheets of these papers standing upright at my viewing station . The Canon paper has started to bend outward and the Epson has remained flat. Both papers are of the same thickness. Could that have an impact on your project?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Interesting - glossy with less traction. Since I used the last of that 69 lb Canon paper, it seems that my problems are solved.

w8vln

I am glad you solved your problem.

The reason I mentioned the idea of re install soft ware was because a person stopped in here to give me his HP printer and said it was not working because of a Jam up.

I set it up on my computer and the printer worked FINE.
I returned his printer back to him and he was surprised and happy! Larry

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Good to know!