Epson 3880 - Printing on 40 pt caliper paper through Auto Feed

[meliss]

I've been using my Epson 3880 for about a month now and it's been great. Today, I tried printing on Reich Savoy 236# paper. The caliper of this paper is 40 pts (about 1.01mm). The paper is cut to 5.125 x 7 inches - smaller than the minimum size requirements for either the front feed or the rear feed paths. The Auto Feed accepts the paper and, for the most part, prints fine. The only problem is some very faint ink marks at the end of the paper. These marks run parallel to the direction of the paper feed, which I've read is caused by paper/ink to feed path contact rather than head strikes. I'm using this paper for invitations and would like to print about 150 of them. The faint ink marks don't bother me that much, but I'm worried about damaging the printer. Is it okay to use paper this thick in the Auto Feed path? Will making about 150 prints on this paper potentially damage my printer?

I'm printing from Preview and set the paper thickness to 1.2 mm (cautiously erring on the high side) and the platen gap to wide.

I would appreciate any info/advice you guys may have. Thanks!

[Alan Goldhammer]

This is very thick paper if I'm reading the numbers correctly.  I've printed lots of Museo Artist Cards using the sheet feeder and never had the problem you are describing (same physical size but 0.356 mm thick).  I'm only conjecturing that the ink load on the paper is causing some swelling that is causing the marks.  It could be related to the sheet feeder.  Eric Chan has a workaround that would allow you to use the rear feeder (but it's a pain in the rear).  See:  http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Epson3800/faq.html#howsmaller

Alan

[meliss]

Thanks, Alan. Yes, the paper is very thick. I've tried Eric Chan's workaround, but couldn't get the rear feeder to accept the paper. Perhaps I'm not doing it correctly... I tried pushing the paper in, but don't feel any resistance and the rear feeder doesn't grab it. The paper is almost all the way in the printer - there is just enough outside for me to hold on to. Thought it might be because my paper is only 7" long while his is 11".

[Farmer]

You shouldn't damage the printer using the auto feed, but you may not get the results you're after and you may need to get it serviced (cleaned) at some point.  This assumes that you're not seeing any head strikes - if that starts to happen then you may damage the head if you keep doing it.

You're right that the 7" length is too short (as you've noted) - from memory you need about 8.5" (though I suspect you've already checked the specs).