I am printing business cards and I am using thick paper but colors come out dull looking but if I change the paper to PLAIN then the colors come out just perfect, full, vivid and rich but I am afraid that I may be damaging the equipment somehow, can anybody please advise?

The only changes you can make are in the printer preferences menu, so if you have lightened it up there you have made the only adjustment allowed or provided for.

Hello Landscapeman ,

You need to specify the paper type when the print dialog box appears. Heavy glossy paper needs to spend more time in the fuser so that the toner is fixed.

Specifications state the following:


Plain paper (16 lb to 24 lb),


thick paper 1 (24-1/4 lb to 40 lb),


thick paper 2 (40-1/4lb to 55-1/2 lb),


thick paper 3 (55-3/4 lb to 68 lb),


thick paper 4 (68-1/4 lb to 72 lb), OHP transparencies, postcards*, letterheads,


colored paper, envelopes, label sheets, banner paper (24-1/4 lb to 55-1/2 lb)*


Duplex: Plain paper (17 lb to 24 lb), thick paper1/2/3 (24 lb to 68 lb


*Can only be fed through the bypass tray.


These specs are directly from the user guide.


Is the paper running through the bypass tray

adjust your thickness guage as card stock is 3 or 4 times thicker than a 20lb plain paper stock. Here is link to a helpful media guide for HP printers.

http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/bpl05339/bpl05339.pdf

Make sure there is 1/16 to 1/32 inch space on each side of the paper in the paper tray.
Move the paper type selector back and forth 5 times, to make sure it is not stuck.
Feed the tray with a minimum of 20 sheets of paper and try to see if it loads paper through.
The paper thickness lever has two settings, one for plain paper, (thin paper 20# to 24#) and one for envelopes and thick paper.
It should be on the 0 setting for thin paper and on the + setting for thick paper and envelopes.
The paper adjustment lever may be adjusted in between the two settings to accommodate paper that is not standard or that the operating/environmental conditions have changed.
Make sure the paper is loaded far enough into the printer to ensure good contact between the paper and the paper feed mechanism.

Menu> scroll to Paperhandling> MP Tray type>>(plain) try changing this to cardstock  <enter>
instead of MP Tray type do the same for Cassette if you desire....
Best, danakadan

That stock might be too heavy for a bizhub.

Specifications state the following:

Plain paper (16 lb to 24 lb),
thick paper 1 (24-1/4 lb to 40 lb),
thick paper 2 (40-1/4lb to 55-1/2 lb),
thick paper 3 (55-3/4 lb to 68 lb),
thick paper 4 (68-1/4 lb to 72 lb)*, OHP transparencies*, postcards*, letterheads,
colored paper, envelopes*, label sheets*, banner paper (24-1/4 lb to 55-1/2 lb)*
Duplex: Plain paper (17 lb to 24 lb), thick paper1/2/3 (24 lb to 68 lb
*Can only be fed through the bypass tray.

These specs are directly from the user guide.

Is the paper running through the bypass tray?

Some paper tints can cause problems with color images, so make sure that you're using plain white paper, not another color such as beige, yellow, or blue. Even an off-white shade can affect your colors.

In addition, paper type can slightly influence your ink color. Highly absorbent papers can draw in the ink so quickly that the printed image may seem dull or a little washed out. If this is the case, try a coated paper that is specifically intended for color printing. If you're printing those important family vacation photos, use a good-quality glossy paper.

If your colors are way off, you may be running out of one or more ink colors. For example, blue and yellow are mixed to make green, so if your grass seems blue rather than green, you may be running out of yellow. Check your ink cartridges and replace any that are low or exhausted.

Thank you, & post back if you still need assistance.

See the manual. It looks as if 120g/m2 is the heaviest paper it can use:
"Set Type to correspond to the paper loaded in the tray from
which you want to print. This will let you get the best quality
printout. If not, print quality may not be acheived as you want.
Thin: Less than 19 lb (70 g/m2) thin paper.
Thick: 24 lb to 32 lb (90~120 g/m2) thick paper.
Cotton: 20 lb to 24 lb (75~90 g/m2) cotton paper such as Gilbert
25 % and Gilbert 100 %.
Plain Paper: Normal plain paper. Select this type if your printer is
monochrome and printing on the 16 lb (60 g/m2) cotton paper.
Recycled: 20 lb to 24 lb (75~90 g/m2) recycled paper.
Color Paper: 20 lb to 24 lb (75~90 g/m2) color-backgrounded
paper."

I am the guy with the hp d'jet D2445. I ran out of card stock in failed attempts. Not wanting to give up I bought more (Avery, no serrations) and it worked fine. Don't ask why.