Epson Photo R200 won't feed matte card stock paper

[Kevin]

I'm using Staples brand, half-fold, matte card stock. The weight is
230g/m2. The printer fed 6 sheets, both sides, with no problem. Now it
won't feed at all. I can run any other paper through it with no problems,
plain, glossy photo, whatever. It tries to feed the paper, but fails. I've
got 60 cards to print and mail out by tomorrow morning. Does anyone have
any ideas how to get the printer to feed this paper?

 

[Tony]

I'm using Staples brand, half-fold, matte card stock. The weight is
230g/m2. The printer fed 6 sheets, both sides, with no problem. Now it
won't feed at all. I can run any other paper through it with no problems,
plain, glossy photo, whatever. It tries to feed the paper, but fails. I've
got 60 cards to print and mail out by tomorrow morning. Does anyone have
any ideas how to get the printer to feed this paper?

The specs for this printer say 255g/m2 maximum using genuine Epson paper only.
This is not to mean that it won't do better but I imagine Epson have a reason
for this limitation and all paper is not created equal.
Also you are close to the maximum paper weight and maybe the feed rollers are a
bit smooth. You could try to clean them (it) with a damp cloth and see if that
helps.
Tony

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for the help. The design of the printer makes it next to impossible
to get to the feed rollers to clean them. The roller I can see looks fine
and the printer will feed glossy photo paper, which is just as heavy as the
card stock I'm working with, with no problems at all. I called Epson and
they won't help me because I'm using Staples brand paper. Needless to say,
this pisses me off, but there's nothing I can do about it. Except consider
buying an HP product. The Staples paper is guaranteed to work with any
printer on the market today.

I have no idea why my Epson is refusing to load this paper. It is
definitely not grabbing the sheet and feeding it. I can get it to work
about 10% of the time by assisting the sheet into the feed. So I guess
there is some issue with the feed rollers. But why it will happily feed
glossy photo paper and not this card stock is a mystery. The finish on the
back of the glossy photo paper is much slicker than the matte finish on the
card stock I'm trying to print. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Ed Ruf (REPLY to E-MAIL IN SIG!)]

I'm using Staples brand, half-fold, matte card stock. The weight is
230g/m2. The printer fed 6 sheets, both sides, with no problem. Now it
won't feed at all. I can run any other paper through it with no problems,
plain, glossy photo, whatever. It tries to feed the paper, but fails. I've
got 60 cards to print and mail out by tomorrow morning. Does anyone have
any ideas how to get the printer to feed this paper?

My old 1270 has a lever that sets the printer for thick paper. Does the
R200 have something similar? Just looked at the Epson site and apparently
not. Are you setting the media type to Heavyweight Matte in the driver?

 

[Woody]

Why are you bitching at Epson because it is having problems with Staples
paper. Call Staples and bitch at them for their cheap paper. The only reason
you are using it is because it is cheap.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

I'm using Staples brand, half-fold, matte card stock. The weight is
230g/m2. The printer fed 6 sheets, both sides, with no problem. Now it
won't feed at all. I can run any other paper through it with no problems,
plain, glossy photo, whatever. It tries to feed the paper, but fails. I've
got 60 cards to print and mail out by tomorrow morning. Does anyone have
any ideas how to get the printer to feed this paper?

Try getting an inkjet printer cleaning kit from an office supply
store. I suspect the 'matte coating' rubbed off on the feed rollers
and needs to be cleaned off. You might want to try Avery or Office
Depot brand papers instead, if it happens again. Or it could just be
that the printer was already on the verge of needing to be cleaned.

I think that he reason that it will still feed the Epson paper is
because when you choose Premium or Ultra Premium paper, it knows that
it's going to be printing on thick paper and adjusts the feed. Older
printers used to have a lever, I think this is software based now. One
thing I like about the HPs more than the Epsons is that HP printers
have settings for 'Other brand photo paper' 'Other greeting cards'
'Other transparencies', that will at least /try/ with different brand
paper, but Epson only has settings for its own papers, which is
annoying because so far I've never seen Epson labels, Epson Vellum,
Epson Greeting Cards, Epson Transparencies, etc, so I'm never quite
sure /what/ setting to chose to print with Avery or in-store brands.

---

http://www.FenrirOnline.com

Computer services, custom metal etching,
arts, crafts, and much more.

 

[Kevin]

You may have missed the point here. I am not bitching at Epson. Yes, it
pisses me off that they won't help me with their printer which is using
paper branded by Staples, that is guaranteed to work in any modern printer.
The fact that the Staples paper is cheaper than the Epson paper has nothing
to do with my decision to purchase it. There was no Epson paper, in the
matte finish, double-sided, half-fold type in the store. Had there been, I
would have bought it.

I am only seeking input as to why my Stylus Photo R200 won't feed the
Staples paper yet takes all the other paper I have on hand with no problems.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for your reply. The R200 does not have a "paper thickness" setting
lever. I am using the Heavyweight Matte driver setting. I've tried single
sheets, a single sheet backed up by a full stack of plain paper, a full
stack of the card stock paper and so on. I just can't get the printer to
feed the paper. It fed the first six sheets, twice, with no problems at
all.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks for the suggestion. I may have to do that. I do have the paper
setting in the driver selected for Heavyweight type paper. I guess the only
thing it could be is the feed rollers. Quite annoying! Thanks again!

 

[nrh]

In

I'm using Staples brand, half-fold, matte card stock. The weight is
230g/m2. The printer fed 6 sheets, both sides, with no problem. Now it
won't feed at all. I can run any other paper through it with no problems,
plain, glossy photo, whatever. It tries to feed the paper, but fails.
I've got 60 cards to print and mail out by tomorrow morning. Does anyone
have any ideas how to get the printer to feed this paper?

Kevin,

I don't actually *know* if this is going to solve your problem, but it has
worked for me on my trusty old 1200 when trying to stuff it with grossly
overweight stock!

Either, score just once along the feeding/leading edge of the paper with
your fingernails in a pinching position. Or, using a ruler on a flat table,
run a straight edge along the leading edge of the paper instead.

Although I have never had to resort to this yet, more drastic action can be
taken by selotaping (or masking taping) a thinner, in-spec piece of paper to
the leading edge which will then get pulled in, but don't forget to make
allowances for this in your page layout.

hth

Nigel

 

[Woody]

You have missed the point. Epson said they only guarantee their paper.
Staples guaranteed their paper would work and it didn't. Take it up with
Staples. It isn't Epson's problem and why should they pay to solve Staples
problem. Staples isn't the only store that sells paper.

 

[Kevin]

Epson made no such guarantee regarding their paper. The Epson Technical
Support representative merely pointed out that it was the policy of Epson
America to only give support to persons using their products exclusively.
He made no assertion that their paper would feed any better or worse than
the Staples branded paper.

He listened to my description of the issue, we worked together on some
driver settings, different feed approaches and so on in an effort to get my
R200 to correctly feed the problem paper. When these attempts failed, he
suggested I try Epson paper. If the printer still would not feed Epson
paper, he would be glad to help me further by directing me to an Epson
authorized repair center where the problem could be addressed. He again
stated that Epson would make no guarantee regarding the performance of the
printer with regard to feeding paper of any origin.

I have used papers from Office Depot, Staples, Office Max, Xerox, HP and
others with no feed problems of any kind.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

This may be too late for your needs, since you were on a tight schedule.

Coated papers and card stocks tend to transfer some of their surface
onto the paper transport rollers.

This needs to be cleaned off. Using isopropyl or rubbing alcohol can
work, by applying it to the transport wheels from the rear. Also, it
may help to slightly pre curl the cards in the direction that will
assist loading.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Well, you have a point, but don't assume he/she bought it because it is
cheap. There may not have been an equivalent product available in the
Epson line. (same weight, same color, etc).

And besides, he wanted to know how to get the printer to work with that
paper. Many papers (even Epson's own), transfer some of the surface
coatings onto the transport wheels and eventually cause slippage.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

If you cannot get at the transport wheels, you can try this:

Get a piece of student watercolor paper, about 90 pound weight, and cut
it make several standard letter size sheets.

With a spray bottle, spray the sheet with 70% isopropyl alcohol so it is
damp, but not running, or making the paper limp.

Run the paper through the machines numerous times, rotating and flipping
it. Use the load/eject buttons to move it through the printer.
Continue to do so until it is no longer damp. See if that helps. If
not do it a second time. It will probably eventually work, but it will
also likely occur again with that paper, so be ready to do it several
times, changing paper as the paper gets contaminated.

Before running any of the final paper you are wanting to use through,
run clean bond paper to help clean and dry the wheels and other surfaces
in the printer.

Art

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Its a printer and paper problem, and its common for many printers which
do not use a very flat paper feed through with stiff card stock. The
paper feed on the Epson can and does pick up coated paper surfaces, and
the rubberized rollers slip on those paper surfaces.

Art