I just ran into a problem printing with my HP Z3200 near the end of a roll of HP Premium Instant Dry Satin. I'd just changed a print head, and after some printing on another paper, wanted to use the end of a roll of this paper to replace damaged prints in a set printed on it.
Calibration and profiling went fine, as did the first print (an 8x24" overall gang print of four small pictures). I needed to print three of these, and the third had ink smears and "skipped lines" at the far right of the sheet. I checked, and the second had a lesser version of same. I tried another, which was worse. But I noticed that there was a clear mechanical "strike" of the paper edge, exactly even with the narrow area of random ink and skipped lines (this is subtle, you have to *inspect*--not glance at--the output to notice). Clearly there had been contact, for whatever reason, and I ejected the roll, crossing my fingers the print heads hadn't been damaged.
I remembered that I'd had a very similar thing happen years ago with my Epson 4800 when I was nearing the end of a roll of heavy Moab cotton paper that was supplied on a skinny 2" core. Premium "instant dry" isn't all that thick, but as a full RC paper it's quite stiff, and unlike HP Professional Satin, it's on a skinny 2" core. I've run out several rolls of Pro Satin, and of heavy Condor cotton paper, both supplied on fatter 3" cores, with no sign of trouble. I'm thinking there is just too much of a set curl from the tight wind at the end of the roll with stiff/thick papers supplied on a skinny core.
Anyone else encountered this problem? Other explanations for it?---Carl