HP 0598 Service Manual

May 1998 Edition

HP LaserJet Printer Family Paper Specification Guide

HP LaserJet Printer Family

Paper Specification Guide ____

Publication number: 5021-8956 First edition, May 1998

Warranty

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

Hewlett-Packard makes no warranty of any kind with respect to this information. HEWLETT-PACKARD SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or other damage alleged in connection with the furnishing or use of this information.

Hewlett-Pack ard Company 11311 Chinden Boulevard Boise, Idaho 83714 U.S.A.

Conventions

The following conventions are used throughout this guide:

Note Notes contain important information.

CAUTION Caution messages appear before procedures, which, if not observed,

could result in loss of data or damage to equipment.

EN 5

6 EN

Contents

1 Introduction

About the HP LaserJet Printer family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Basic theory of operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Supported HP LaserJet products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Alternate sources of information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2 Guidelines and specifications for selecting media

Important notice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Recommendations to the customer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Buy media that meets specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Test small amounts of media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

General guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Basis weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Furnish (composition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Curl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Finish (smoothness) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Felt side vs. wire side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Paper specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Paper weight equivalences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Comparisons of paper smoothness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Recycled paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Archival paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Colored paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Paper with cutouts or perforations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Preprinted forms and letterhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Envelope specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Envelope construction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Adhesive label specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Label stock facts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Overhead transparency specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Types of media to avoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

3 Purchasing, shipping, and storing media

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Purchasing media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Overhead transparencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Shipping media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Contents 7

Storing media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Environmental considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4 Troubleshooting

Factors contributing to print problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Two-sided printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Automatic duplexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Manual duplexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Indications of paper problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

High rates of jams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

High rates of multiple feeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Post-image curl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Indications of envelope problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Gray background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

High rates of jams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Wrinkling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

A Paper basis weights

B Postal customer recommendations statement

C Glossary

8 Contents

Index

Introduction

About the HP LaserJet Printer family

HP LaserJet printers quietly produce documents of excellent print quality at speeds ranging from four to seventeen pages per minute. You can print on a variety of print media, including paper, envelopes, labels, and overhead transparencies. (Envelopes and labels are not supported on the HP Color LaserJet printers.) Many printer settings are easily selectable from the printer control panel.

Basic theory of operation

HP LaserJet printers use laser and electrophotographic technologies. In this process, a scanning laser beam writes an electrostatic image onto a rotating photosensitive drum. As this image passes the developing station, a dry, powdery toner is attracted to the imaged areas. In an HP Color LaserJet printer, this process is repeated for each of the four toner colors. The de veloped image then advances to the transfer station where the drum contacts the media and the toner image is electrostatically transferred onto the paper . After transf er , the media passes through the fuser where heat is applied and the toner fuses (melts) onto the media. The media is then deposited in the output bin, ready for use.

To create the printed image, all print media must be transported through the printer, charged electrostatically, and heated. This is why media properties such as electrical resistivity, caliper, finish, and stiffness can affect the print quality and media-handling performance of your HP LaserJet printer.

Chapter 1 – Introduction

Supported HP LaserJet products

This document provides useful guidelines for selecting media that will give you the best performance with most HP LaserJet printers and the HP LaserJet Companion.

This document does not support HP LaserJet 2686A, HP LaserJet Plus, HP LaserJet 500, or HP LaserJet 2000 printers. See the user guide for each printer for information about print media specifications.

Alternate sources of information

The media manufacturer and vendor can pro vide you with inf ormation about the suitability of media for an HP LaserJet printer or the HP LaserJet Companion.

If you hav e tried the suggestions outlined in this document and in your user guide and you still need assistance, call the dealer from which you purchased your printer. You can also obtain support through the worldwide network of HP Sales and Service Offices. (See the sales and service listings located in the back of any HP LaserJet printer user guide.)

In the United States, HP offers support through the Customer Support Center. Call (208) 323-2551 from 6 am to 10 pm MST, Monday through Friday, or from 9 am to 4 pm MST, Saturday.

Supported HP LaserJet products

Guidelines and

specifications for selecting media

Important notice

Properties of media are subject to change by manufacturers. Hewlett-Packard has no control over such changes. The customer assumes all responsibility for the quality and performance of media. Although testing media helps to characterize its performance, long-term satisfaction requires process quality control by the manufacturer and proper handling.

Recommendations to the customer

HP LaserJet printers are designed to be flexible in the types of print media they can use. Because there are many types of media and variations can occur in the process of manufacturing media, it is important to select the best media for your printing application. Hewlett-Packard LaserJet or Multipurpose paper was designed specifically for use with your printer. If HP paper is available in your area, it is recommended that you use it.

Note HP recommends testing media prior to purchasing it in large quantities.

Chapter 2 – Guidelines and specifications for selecting media

Buy media that meets specifications

For best performance from your HP LaserJet printer, select high-quality print media that meets the guidelines and specifications in this document.

Test small amounts of media

If you are planning a large purchase of media, first print a small quantity in your printing environment. Subject the media to the temperature, humidity, and printing applications in which the media will be operating. HP recommends that you ask your media v endor f or a guarantee that their media will perform satisfactorily in your HP LaserJet printer and that the vendor will assume responsibility for the replacement of any media that will not print acceptably.

General guidelines

This section summarizes general guidelines for choosing print media.

Quality

HP LaserJet printers work best with high-quality media. Quality media for HP LaserJet printers is characterized by uniform physical properties, freedom from dust and lint, accurate cutting to size, and proper packaging. Proper packaging protects media from moisture and physical damage.

General guidelines

Avoid media with curled or bent edges , spots, dust or lint, wrinkling, or inaccurate size. These characteristics can cause misfeeding, jamming, premature wear of printer parts, or unsatisfactory print quality in the printer.

Size

Table 2-1 lists the names and dimensions of the most commonly used paper and envelopes. See the user documentation for your printer for specific information on the media supported by your HP LaserJet printer. Use only paper and envelopes that are supported by your printer.

Table 2-1. Common papers and envelopes

Type of Media Name Dimensions

Paper Letter 216 by 279 mm

(8.5 by 11 in)

Paper Legal 216 by 356 mm

(8.5 by 14 in)

Paper Executive 184 by 267 mm

(7.25 by 10.5 in)

Paper A0 841 by 1189 mm

(33.1 by 46.8 in)

Paper A3 297 by 420 mm

(11.7 by 16.5 in)

Paper A4 210 by 297 mm

(8.3 by 11.7 in)

Paper A5 148 by 210 mm

(5.8 by 8.2 in)

Paper Tabloid/Ledger 279 by 432 mm

(11 by 17 in)

Paper B4 (JIS) 257 by 364 mm

(10.1 by 14.3 in)

Paper B5 (JIS) 182 by 257 mm

(7.2 by 10 in)

Paper J Postcard (hagaki) 100 by 148 mm

(3.9 by 5.8 in)

Paper J Double Postcard

(oufuku hagaki)

Envelope Commercial #10 105 by 241 mm

Envelope #7 3/4 (Monarch)

Envelope DL 110 by 220 mm

Envelope C5 162 by 229 mm

Envelope B5 176 by 250 mm

148 by 200 mm (5.8 by 7.9 in)

(4.1 by 9.5 in) 98 by 191 mm

(3.9 by 7.5 in)

(4.3 by 8.6 in)

(6.4 by 9.1 in)

(7.0 by 9.9 in)

Chapter 2 – Guidelines and specifications for selecting media

Basis weight

Basis weight (also called grammage) is an important characteristic of paper. Paper that is too light or too heavy can cause misfeeds, mis-stacking, paper jams, poor print quality, or excessive mechanical wear in the printer.

CAUTION Avoid using extremely heavy paper. Use paper that falls within your

printer’s specified basis weight, as shown in appendix A or in the user documentation that came with your printer.

Furnish (composition)

Furnish is the mixing and blending together of various materials to make the paper stock. F or optimum perf ormance of your HP LaserJet printer, use paper made from 100 percent chemical wood pulp and/or cotton fiber. Recycled paper, made with no more than 5 percent groundwood, is also acceptable. To ensure that paper of a special fiber composition will work correctly in your printer, test it before purchasing large quantities. Other components of paper are sizing, fillers, and pigments.

Note Avoid using coated paper or paper containing materials that melt,

vaporize, offset, discolor, or release hazardous emissions when exposed to 205° C (401° F) for 0.1 second (0.2 second for HP Color LaserJet printers).

General guidelines

Curl

Curl is curvature in a sheet of paper. It is typically measured by la ying the sheet of paper on a flat surface, with the corners up, and measuring the height of the corners. There are two types of curl:

In-ream curl is the amount of curl in a sheet of paper before

printing. In-ream curl results from the paper-manufacturing process or from exposure to the environment. Paper with excessive in-ream curl might lead to feeding and print-quality problems.

Post-image curl is the amount of curl in a sheet of paper after

printing. Post-image curl results from exposure to the fusing process and paper path in the printer. Paper with excessive post-image curl may be difficult to handle or to use in automatic-feed photocopiers.

Finish (smoothness)

Paper should not have a heavy texture or a glossy smoothness. Printed output on textured paper may have broken character edges and show poor toner adhesion. On the HP Color LaserJet printers, textured paper will cause inconsistent or blotchy colors and may wrinkle in the fuser. Glossy-smooth paper tends to highlight defects such as stray toner particles, and may not hold toner. For sharp resolution or detail, use a smooth paper.

Paper finish is measured in units of Sheffield. The lower the Sheffield number, the smoother the paper. See Figure 2-1 for more information.

Avoid using paper with embossed or raised surfaces: spotty printing and misfeeding may occur. It is possible to print satisfactorily on paper that has embossed areas in the leading edge, trailing edge, or in areas where print will not appear on the paper; however, misfeeding or jamming may occur.

Felt side vs. wire side

Some methods of manufacturing paper result in two-sided paper properties. Along with other process variations, these properties can make one side of the paper the preferred side on which to print. The “top” side of the paper sheet, as it is formed, is known as the felt side. The “bottom” is known as the wire side. Most manufacturers indicate the preferred printing side on the package.

Chapter 2 – Guidelines and specifications for selecting media

Paper specifications

Use conventional white xerographic paper for most printing. The paper should be high quality and free of cuts, tears, grease spots, loose particles, dust, wrinkles, voids, and curled or bent edges. Xerographic papers, also called photocopy or xerocopy papers, are usually made from chemical wood pulp and are characterized by a smooth surface, controlled electrical properties, heat stability, and cleanliness. These characteristics ensure good image transfer, fusing without excessive curl, and reliable printer operation.

Some printing applications may require a paper with a more prestigious look or feel. Bond papers generally hav e a watermark and often use cotton fiber. These papers tend to have a rougher surface and their properties might not be controlled like those of xerographic papers. Your HP LaserJet printer will print black satisfactorily on many of these bond papers. Using this type of paper on HP Color LaserJet printers can degrade color print quality. However, paper manufacturers are now making laser-grade bond papers, which have properties compatible with laser printing.

Note For paper specifications specific to Magnetic Ink Character Recognition

(MICR) printing applications, refer to the HP part number 5091-3857.

HP MICR User’s Guide

One of the most important things you can do to ensure the best performance from your HP LaserJet printer is to select a quality paper. Table 2-2 summarizes the specifications of paper that provide the best performance.

Note Paper ma y meet the general specifications listed in Table 2-2 and still

not print satisfactorily because of the printing environment or other variables over which HP has no control.

Paper specifications

Table 2-2. Paper specifications

Description Specifications

Basis weight See appendix A or the user documentation for

your printer.

Brightness 83% minimum. Recycled paper may not be as

bright. Caliper 3.0 to 7.0 mils (0.094 to 0.18 mm). Curl In-ream: flat within 5 mm (0.2 in). Cut edge

conditions Electrical surface

resistivity Electrical volume

resistivity Finish 100 to 190 (Sheffield) for HP Color LaserJet

Finishing precision Cut sheet to within ±0.03 inch (± 0.8 mm) of

Furnish (fiber composition)

Fusing compatibility Must not scorch, melt, offset, or release hazardous

Grain Long grain. Moisture content 4% to 6% by weight. Opacity 85% minimum. Packaging Polylaminated moisture-proof ream wrap. pH 5.5 pH minimum. Stiffness 1.6 minimum machine direction, 0.6 minimum

Wax pick 12 minimum (Dennison).

Cut with sharp blades with no visible fray and no

dust.

2.0 to 15 by 10

(conditioned at 23

1.2 to 15 by 10

(conditioned at 23

ohms/square inch

C and 50% RH).

ohms-cm

C and 50% RH).

printers;

100 to 250 for all other HP LaserJet printers.

nominal and ± 0.2

square.

100% chemical wood pulp and/or cotton fiber;

recycled paper with up to 5% groundwood may be

used.

emissions when heated to 205° C (401° F) for

0.1 second (0.2 second for HP Color LaserJet

printers).

cross direction (Taber).

Chapter 2 – Guidelines and specifications for selecting media

Paper weight equivalences

Use Table 2-3 to determine approximate equivalent points in weight specifications other than U.S. bond w eight. For e xample, to determine the equivalent of 20 lb U.S. bond weight paper in U.S. cover weight, locate the bond weight (in row 3, fourth column) and scan across the row to the cover weight (in the sixth column). The equivalent is 28 lb.

Note Shaded areas indicate a standard weight for that grade.

Table 2-3. Paper weight equivalences

Metric wt (g/m

Europe Japan Postcard*

60 60 16 41 22 27 33 37 64 75 75 80 80 21 54 30 36 44 49 80 90 90 100 100 27 68 37 45 55 61 105 120 120 120 135 135 148 148 0.18 39 157 163 163 0.20 43 110 60 74 176 176 0.23 47 119 199 199 53 134 74 90

* U.S. postcard measurements are approximate. Use for reference only.

) U.S. weights (lb) or thickness (mm)

thickness

64 17 43 24 29 35 39

81 22 56 31 38 46 51

105 28 70 39 49 58 65

128 34 86 47 58 71 79

157 0.19 42 107 58 72 87 97

Bond Wt

20 50 28 34 42 46

24 60 33 41 50 55

32 80 44 55 67 74

36 90 50 62 75 83

Textbook Wt

100 55 67 82 91

Cover Wt

65 80 97 108

BristolWtIndex

90 100

110 122

Tag Wt

Paper weight equivalences

Comparisons of paper smoothness

)

Smoothness typically is expressed in terms of Sheffield, Gurley , Bekk, or Bendtsen units. HP LaserJet printers generally require a smoothness of between 100-250 Sheffield.

Sheffield Gurley S-P-S Bekk Bendtsen

(3 PSI) (1 KG/CM

(CC by 10-2/MIN) (SEC./100 CC) (SEC/10 CC) (CC/MIN)

Hewlett-Packard Specification Range

Dollar Bill

Figure 2-1 Interrelation among methods of air-leak smoothness

Chapter 2 – Guidelines and specifications for selecting media

Recycled paper

Recycled paper is a combination of waste paper, pre-consumer waste, and post-consumer waste. Printed waste paper is usually washed to remove most of the inks and other contaminants. A recycled sheet of paper may contain dark specks or appear gray or dirty. Choose recycled paper that meets the same specifications, except brightness, as standard paper (see Table 2-2) and that has an appearance suitable for your needs. HP recommends that recycled paper contain no more than 5 percent groundwood.

Archival paper

Paper used for archiving must meet the same specifications as standard paper; however, the pH should be no less than 7.0. Some archival demands are more stringent than others, requiring a specific degree of alkalinity and chemical stability. Toner is chemically stable and should last as long as the paper does. Toner can be degraded by petroleum-based solvents or plasticizers, such as those f ound in vin yl folders.

Avoid folding archival documents across printed areas or handling archival documents roughly. Discuss archival requirements with your paper supplier.

Colored paper

You can use colored paper in your HP LaserJet printer as long as the paper meets the same specifications as standard paper (see Table 2-2).

The HP Color LaserJet printers are optimal for printing on white paper. You also can use an HP Color LaserJet printer to print on colored paper that meets all the specifications listed in this guide. However, colored paper may change the printed colors. This is because HP Color LaserJet printers create colors by printing a pattern of dots, overlaying and varying their spacing to produce various colors. When these colors are printed on colored media, varying the shade or color of the media will vary the shades of your printed colors. Since the printer cannot sense what color of paper you are using, it has no way to adjust the output colors for colored paper.

Comparisons of paper smoothness

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