Can you use cardstock in a printer

There are many different media types when it comes to cardstock printing so it is vital to always double check what your printer can handle before attempting to print.

This will prevent any issues with the printer or any mis-prints. Using the wrong media could cause issues or in the worst case, damage to your printer internally.

You need to look out for what media types your printer can support and what the maximum media weight is. Your printer may only be able to handle cardstock via a specific tray or sometimes a manual feed, using the wrong tray could also cause jams or mis-prints. We would recommend doing a test print beforehand. Make sure you only use one sheet of your heavy media and test the printer first, rather than loading the whole tray and sending your document to print.

Providing you have changed the paper type to a heavy gauge material, such as cardstock or heavy paper, your printer should do the job for you. By changing the preference, the speed your laser printer feeds the material through will slow down, giving it more exposure to the machine than it fusing the toner onto it.

The toner will then fuse better to the card or heavy paper, and prevent it from smearing. You can copy on cardstock exactly the same way you would copy on paper. Simply keep the preference as a heavy paper type, and your printer will do the rest for you.

Inkjet - Inkjet printers use tiny nozzles to spray ink onto the paper. This liquid ink will soak into the paper and may need some time to dry to avoid smudging.

Inkjet is the most common form of home printer, and responds well to most paper types, but may not work, or work as well, on certain coated and reflective papers where ink is not readily absorbed and can easily smear and smudge. Inkjet printers are especially successful at printing on textured card stocks. Laser - Laser printers use a toner cartridge filled with powder and heat to create a virtually waterproof, plastic-like ink that sits on top of the paper.

Flush with the paper. Words will not be raised. Unlike inkjet ink, laser ink does not soak into the paper, so it is dry right away and allows for printing on some surfaces that inkjet cannot print on such as metallic, pearlescent, and reflective paper. Inkjet vs. Laser- When viewed at an angle, you can see how the inkjet ink soaks into the paper, while the laser ink leaves a very thin plastic-like coating on top.

Letterpress is the oldest form of printing and is the height of luxury when it comes to paper goods. She earned a B. How to Change Settings for the Thicknesses of Paper in Share on Facebook. Step 1 Load your card stock into the desired printer tray. Step 3 Open the document you want to print. References Microsoft: Choosing Print Options.