Printer for 3x5 cards and other small forms

On 6 Aug 2011 09:20:47 -0400, (Jeff Jonas) wrote:

When I print test prints on my printer I will cut an A4 sheet (21x30cm)
in half so it becomes two B4 (15x21cm) size sheets this is placed in the
printer one end and is printed one end only. Then I turn it around to
print the another end.

An annoying option is to "tip in" the index card
onto a larger carrier.
Kinda like the way the credit card, membership cards
and such are attached to a larger page
and you have to peel it off.
But that requires a lot of manual handling:
using rubber cement or some Post-It style temporary adhesive
to cardstock to run it thru the printer.

I've done that several times. I usually use that double-stick tape. It
is a pain. The double-thick page can cause some printers to choke and
the leading edge must be securely tapes down or it will come apart. To
be used only in dire emergencies.

PS: I've never heard the term "tip in". It is British?

On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:44:53 +0100, Peter
wrote:

On 05/08/2011 23:35, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
Does anyone make a printer that can handle small forms like 3x5 cards
reliably?

I have a huge HP 5000 LaserJet and a small Canon S830D photo inkjet.
Neither one handles small forms well.

I'd like to be able to define the page size (in Word) as the actual
paper size (3 x 5) and have it print one page on each card. If I do
that, both printers print the text in the wrong place on a standard
letter sized (8.5 x 11) page.

The HP orients the text in the upper righthand corner of the letter
page, but the paper guides align in the center. There doesn't seem to be
any way to feed a 3x5 card correctly. But even it I adjust the page
margins to force the etxt to be in the right place, the paper handling
mechanism doesn't like such a small form. Jams are frequent.

The Canon orients the text in the center bottom of a letter page, but
the guides align right. Again, there doesn't seem to be any way to feed
a 3x5 card correctly. If I adjust the margins, it works pretty well.

I did a search for label printers, but all I get are those specialty
printers that work off of a roll on peel-off labels. I didn't find any
that took cards.

I'd be happy to buy a special printer thay only printed small stock if I
could find one.

Any help would be much appreciated.
I use a HP 3845 inkjet that handles down to 10x13 cm (sorry I only had a
metric ruler handy. It's about 4x5"))I just put them in the front right
corner of the tray and they pick up ok. It'll handle "business card"
stock ok but anything stiffer/thicker and it might jam. I think it would
go narrower easily, but I'm not sure about length.

OK, thanks. I'll check it out.

An annoying option is to "tip in" the index card
onto a larger carrier.

PS: I've never heard the term "tip in". It is British?

I think that's what I heard.
A graphics art term for manually inserting a photo or small part
that's glued or taped on.

For a while, a popular laser printer accessory were foil transfers
that were similar to carbon paper.
You "tipped in" the transfer over the part of the printout
you wanted in that color and ran it thru the laser printer
just for the heated roller to fuse the color to the toner beneath,
then removed the transfer paper.

Almost all printers have a custom size you can set the paper size whatever
it is.
My printer prints up to 3.5 x 3.5 in (the smaller size). The settings will
guide you wihch is the smaller size you could print.

On 7/08/2011 1:04 AM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 20:18:19 +1000, wrote:

On 6/08/2011 12:09 PM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 11:20:51 +1000, wrote:

On 6/08/2011 10:14 AM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
On 5 Aug 2011 18:51:26 -0400, (Jeff Jonas) wrote:

Does anyone make a printer that can handle small forms
like 3x5 cards reliably?

My old Canon inkjet printer's put away
but it has plenty of rollers and metal spurs
to handle small forms.
It handled manually fed individual "hello my name is" labels,
which are about that size.
The paper path is straight thru from rear to front,
ideal for thicker media.

So does mine. It can handle 4x6 cards, but jams with 3x5. Do you have a
model number? (Not that it's still available.)

My "Craden" desktop printer was intended for banking,
printing passbooks and other small things.
It's dot-matrix, black ribbon only.
Perhaps some are still available?

Never heard of them. I'll see what I can find.

I'm unsure of sources for it,
but I once found a box of fanfold index cards.
Even if you don't have a tractor feed printer,
perhaps run thru a sheet of 3-4 at a time?

I have a box of micro-perf cards, but I really want to be able to print
them one at a time.

You may have to print 2-up that will give you 6x5 and just turn the card
around

Did you mean 6x10? That is, buy larger stock that has 2 3x5 cards per
page with a perforation?

I have some card stock like that and it would work, but I really want to
print them one card at a time.

When I print test prints on my printer I will cut an A4 sheet (21x30cm)
in half so it becomes two B4 (15x21cm) size sheets this is placed in the
printer one end and is printed one end only. Then I turn it around to
print the another end.

I'm not sure I understand your point. Your 15x21cm pages are roughly the
size of 6x8 cards. My printers will handle that size. They will handle
paper as small as 4x6 cards (10x15cm).

I need a printer that will accept 3x5 cards (8x13cm) without misfeeds.

I think its the length of the print and not the width which is the
critical part. If your printer does 4x6 and I assume this is fed through
and uses the 6" length as its the feed mechanism which is related to the
5" being too short. You should be able to find a printer which has feed
and takeup rollers Epson do.


Take this as an example

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/j...sku=C11CA19201

Paper Handling

Paper Sizes: 3.5" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", 8.5" x 11", 8.5" x
14", A4, B5, A5, A6, half letter, executive, user definable (3.5" – 44"
in length)

Maximum Paper Size: 8.5" x 44"

Borderless Sizes: 3.5" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", 8.5" x 11", A4

Paper Types:

* Plain paper
* Epson Bright White Paper
* Photo Paper Glossy
* Premium Photo Paper Glossy
* Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy
* Premium Photo Paper Semi-gloss
* Presentation Paper Matte
* Premium Presentation Paper Matte
* Premium Presentation Paper Matte Double-sided
* Matte Scrapbook Photo Paper (letter)

On Sun, 07 Aug 2011 12:09:58 +1000, Rob wrote:

On 7/08/2011 1:04 AM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 20:18:19 +1000, wrote:

On 6/08/2011 12:09 PM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
On Sat, 06 Aug 2011 11:20:51 +1000, wrote:

On 6/08/2011 10:14 AM, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
On 5 Aug 2011 18:51:26 -0400, (Jeff Jonas) wrote:

Does anyone make a printer that can handle small forms
like 3x5 cards reliably?

My old Canon inkjet printer's put away
but it has plenty of rollers and metal spurs
to handle small forms.
It handled manually fed individual "hello my name is" labels,
which are about that size.
The paper path is straight thru from rear to front,
ideal for thicker media.

So does mine. It can handle 4x6 cards, but jams with 3x5. Do you have a
model number? (Not that it's still available.)

My "Craden" desktop printer was intended for banking,
printing passbooks and other small things.
It's dot-matrix, black ribbon only.
Perhaps some are still available?

Never heard of them. I'll see what I can find.

I'm unsure of sources for it,
but I once found a box of fanfold index cards.
Even if you don't have a tractor feed printer,
perhaps run thru a sheet of 3-4 at a time?

I have a box of micro-perf cards, but I really want to be able to print
them one at a time.

You may have to print 2-up that will give you 6x5 and just turn the card
around

Did you mean 6x10? That is, buy larger stock that has 2 3x5 cards per
page with a perforation?

I have some card stock like that and it would work, but I really want to
print them one card at a time.

When I print test prints on my printer I will cut an A4 sheet (21x30cm)
in half so it becomes two B4 (15x21cm) size sheets this is placed in the
printer one end and is printed one end only. Then I turn it around to
print the another end.

I'm not sure I understand your point. Your 15x21cm pages are roughly the
size of 6x8 cards. My printers will handle that size. They will handle
paper as small as 4x6 cards (10x15cm).

I need a printer that will accept 3x5 cards (8x13cm) without misfeeds.

I think its the length of the print and not the width which is the
critical part. If your printer does 4x6 and I assume this is fed through
and uses the 6" length as its the feed mechanism which is related to the
5" being too short. You should be able to find a printer which has feed
and takeup rollers Epson do.

Actually, I would think that both matter. I doubt if most printers would
could handle 1" x 10" paper no matter which way it was fed. ;-)

It would be really helpful if the specs said what the minimum and
maximum width (feed edge) and length (travel edge) are independent of
paper size. Letter paper can be fed two ways.

My HP 5000 says it takes letter and legal paper, but it feeds letter
with the 11" side first and legal with the 8.3" side first.

The paper guides on my inkjet only close down to 3.5" so even though a
3x5 card will go through, it isn't held tightly against the guides, so
the image can be misaligned. I may make a little 1/2" jig.

Take this as an example

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/j...sku=C11CA19201

Paper Handling

Paper Sizes: 3.5" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", 8.5" x 11", 8.5" x
14", A4, B5, A5, A6, half letter, executive, user definable (3.5" – 44"
in length)

Maximum Paper Size: 8.5" x 44"

Borderless Sizes: 3.5" x 5", 4" x 6", 5" x 7", 8" x 10", 8.5" x 11", A4

Paper Types:

* Plain paper
* Epson Bright White Paper
* Photo Paper Glossy
* Premium Photo Paper Glossy
* Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy
* Premium Photo Paper Semi-gloss
* Presentation Paper Matte
* Premium Presentation Paper Matte
* Premium Presentation Paper Matte Double-sided
* Matte Scrapbook Photo Paper (letter)

On Sat, 6 Aug 2011 23:34:52 +0300, "Yianni" wrote:

Almost all printers have a custom size you can set the paper size whatever
it is.
My printer prints up to 3.5 x 3.5 in (the smaller size). The settings will
guide you wihch is the smaller size you could print.

Do you mean from inside the application?

I just created a Word document with a page size of 2" x 2". This is ell
below the specs for both of my printers, yet both happily accepted it
and printed the page (on a letter-size page). Neither would havbe been
able to feed a 2x2 piece of paper.

I need a printer that will accept 3x5 cards (8x13cm) without misfeeds.

I think its the length of the print
and not the width which is the critical part.

I kinda agree.
Let me attempt a diagram:


--[]----[]--A-[]-- rotating rod with rollers
|
B
|
--[]----[]----[]--


"B" is the space between the roller rods.
Anything smaller than that
will simply get stuck between the rods.

"A" is the space between rollers on the rod.
Most printers and copiers skimp on that
so width is an issue. Too narrow
and the form won't stay aligned register properly.

It's times like this I miss the full platen
of typewriter style printers such as the Diablo daisy wheel.


Take this as an example
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/j...sku=C11CA19201
Paper Handling
Paper Sizes: 3.5" x 5"

While a little smaller than a 3x5 index card,
that's a standard size. Citing the US Post Office, a post card is:

* Rectangular
* At least 3-1/2 inches high x 5 inches long x 0.007 inch thick
* No more than 4-1/4 inches high x 6 inches long x 0.016 inches thick
http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/m...tics/cards.htm

My printer prints up to 3.5 x 3.5 in (the smaller size). The settings will
guide you wihch is the smaller size you could print.

Do you mean from inside the application?


From the driver. Someone can match both the driver size and the application
size of print material.


I just created a Word document with a page size of 2" x 2". This is ell
below the specs for both of my printers, yet both happily accepted it
and printed the page (on a letter-size page). Neither would havbe been
able to feed a 2x2 piece of paper.

If you could put the driver's paper size to 2x2 it should be the correct
adjustment. Of course most printers can not print to so small paper, some
could print on 3.5x3.
The 3x5 size is small but not enough small for inkjet printers. Of course
someone would test, because both small size and thick paper is not the
better combination!

I haven't printed office label for age to know anything about the newer
program. But age ago, I got a free program came with the CD self-stick
label it had lot of templates of Avery and other manufactures, and it gave
the option to print specific label(s) from a full sheet.

I'm slogging my way thru M$ Word templates for labels and stickers.
Avery is the main source
but StaplesDepotMax has templates for their generics.
On the one hand, I'm frustrated at the lack of
"do this for all 30 labels" like dedicated programs.
But as you said, I can select and print one label at a time
on my inkjet printer.

It's rarely recommended to put labels thru a laserjet
more than once. The adhesive can't endure
so many cycles thru the heated fuser roller.
[I got a laser printer at a garage sale CHEAP
because I had to unjam labels that were stuck inside]

However, this is topic drift as none of this is applicable
to the original poster's request for index card printing.

Unless he's printing 3x5 labels to stick on the index cards.
Hey, that's a work-around!