I've found with the upgraded firmware, loading single sheets to be MUCH easier if I set "Sheet Load/Check Skew" to OFF. It will feed the paper through, not screwing with it to see if it's correct or not, then you align with the blue lines and you're done. I don't know if this was there pre-7.0 of the firmware, but it's saved me a TON of time with loading tabloid sheets I was printing.
That's what my experience is (Z3200).
However, I was badly surprised when I could not READ an A3 profile-patch page, which I had PRINTED a day earlier. Impossible, period. I.A.O.T.F.R.T.I.M (If any other thing fails read the instruction manual). Color Profiling page 63, quote "Chart measurement may not be successful if you load the chart as a single feed without skew check." End quote. Skew check on again, problem solved. But this is only and explicitly needed for profiling.
The way I do it, in more then 50% of the time successful, is hanging over the printer, and hand feed an A4, A3 or A3+ sheet in the rear slot without opening the sheet tray. The roll is unloaded of course, but still in place and I use the black end of the spindle as a gauge. Carefully slipping the paper in the slot until it is picked up and hold by the printer, the display tells you that the printer will feed the paper in 3 seconds.
Bas