Best HP B&W laserjet for printing on coated heavyweight paper?

[houdini042]

Hi all!

I've got a question for all of you that have printed on coated paper or cardstock successfully. We just switched to an HP 2015 in my office after our hp 4250 died on us. We do a lot of printing on a maybe 80 weight coated cardstock type paper on a B&W laser, but the new printer doesn't seem to be able to get the fuser temperature up high enough to get the toner to fuse. I've tried all the heaviest paper settings and can't seem to get it to work.

So. Is there some way to find out the optimal fuser temp for printing on coated heavyweight paper? I'm assuming we'll have to buy a new printer, so is there anyone out there who has successfully printed on this type of paper from a B&W laserjet? We're looking for an HP preferably, but if there's a better one out there I'd go for it.

Thanks in advance!

[redcow]

Paper specs for the 2015

Multipurpose input tray 1: 16 to 43 lbs (60 to 163 g/m2)
250-sheet trays 2 and 3: 16 to 28 lbs (60 to 105 g/m2)
Automatic two-sided printing unit: 16 to 28 lb (60 to 105 g/m2)

It may work for a little while, but it will fail(you can count on it).
And you will be billed if you call HP in to fix it. And it will probably cost the price of a replacement printer after the clutches and paper feed assembly
are replaced.

[redcow]

I looked at the 9000 and 8100 and even the 5si. The max weight for tray one is 58#.

Now 80# paper is sold, so there has to be a printer that will print on it.
My advice...call HP and ask them.

Write back if you find the printer, I would really like to know which one will handle heavy weight paper.

You might even email the paper manufacturer

[houdini042]

I've gotten a recommendation for the 4015 as a "repacement" for the 4250, and I've also been looking at the 3005 series. Our higher-ups nixed those the first time around because the price was high. But it's worth it, certainly in my mind, to get a more expensive printer that actually works.

The 2015 was a complete failure. We're sending it back, and I hope the experience with the weaker printer will convince everyone that we need to shell out for quality. We're a small business, so we're price conscious, but we need to put out a good quality product, which will mean a good quality, maybe more expensive printer.

Thanks for your responses, and I'll let you know what we end up going with and if it works.

[redcow]

The 4015 specs say tray 1 max weight is 54#.

[cs_steve]

Out of the printers you've mentioned ... the 4250 is the best and most solid (in my experience/ opinion)...
If you liked the 4250, why not just get another one refurbished?
http://printertechsdotcom.stores.yahoo.net/hpla42re.html

Here's the problem: there are no HP printers that are well-designed to accept that heavy weight of paper... however, that does not mean you can't run that weight of paper on printers ... just be prepared to accept the consequences because any printer will wear out much more quickly if paper is out of spec ...

[houdini042]

We ended up going with the 3015, on the recommendation of the HP guy I talked to who said it was the best replacement for the 4250. We've just started using it, but again we're having some issues with smearing. Sometimes it ghost prints, but I've been playing around with paper type and fuser density settings to try to fix that.
We've changed fuser density to 5, paper type to cardstock, changed it to prores, set the speed lower, and use the manual feed tray to print to the back of the printer, but still we get some smudging/ghosts, and there seems to even be a faint vertical line?! Augh!
We got the specifics on the paper we use; it's 80# mohawk 50/10 ultra matte according to our printers. Way out of the specs for any hp printers.

Any suggestions about what to do about this?

I'm highly considering buying a refurbished 4250 and returning the 4015. We had the 4250s for years before they started causing us problems, so maybe we can get away with a refurbished one, my only concern is that it will end up with the same problems.

Thoughts?

[prntrfxr]

hp 4015 is a 52/page per minute machine - since its faster its going to probably be the same heat element or hotter than the 4250. (This fuser is still in R & D at my shop but look to be rebuilding it in the near future).

Either 4015 or another 4250. You have to weigh the pros and cons. either way get something with a warranty. (new printer is more expensive, but longer warranty - we have 90 day on our 4250's).

80lb paper is pretty heavy stuff. Everything else right now from HP is not as heavy duty.

Put fuser setting on hi heat and run from tray 1, like you've been doing

[redcow]

If you're going to use 80# paper, you have no warranty!