HP M254nw now printing flat black (should be photo-glossy) on 120g glossy paper

[GaryR]

Odd issue, last year made up some templates to cut out in PDF, printed them and (IIRC) chose "Photo" and 120gm gloss paper. They printed in gloss black and looked great. Trying now on very same box of paper (HP toner) I only get a flat black printout. Have tried choosing different outputs, always the same result. What am I doing wrong now that worked 4 months ago? I attached the pdf file i'm printing if that helps..

 

[SkedAddled]

If the paper is the same, is the toner different?

Laser & LED printers operate by heat-fusing plastic powders to paper.
If the formulation of the toner material has changed since your successful
printing job(s) is different, that could account for the difference.
It's also possible that environmental factors, such as humidity,
have caused a difference in output.
My first suspicion would be that the paper has absorbed some humidity,
causing a difference in the final result.

My experience with laser is with plain-paper output,
and all print was a mostly eggshell output: semi-gloss at best
on the glossy scale. I've not known laser printers to produce glossy
output, even on transparencies.

 

[GaryR]

Thank you for the reply. Paper is not compromised, toner is the same (OEM) HP black. May be hard to see but i've put an old print-out next to the new one, the gloss on the left is clearly visible.

 

[The Hat]

i've put an old print-out next to the new one, the gloss on the left is clearly visible.

I reckon your were luck with the first one, because it’s not recommended to use glossy paper in a laser printer..

 

[GaryR]

Really, no glossy photo paper in a Color laser printer?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

There are glossy like papers for laserprinters on the market

https://www.amazon.de/Fotopapier-Laserdrucker-doppelseitig-glänzend-210x297/dp/B07VZNPP9F/ref=sr_1_5?__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=1XM7R5PSE76TS&keywords=laser+glossy&qid=1676212279&sprefix=laser+glossy,aps,156&sr=8-5

but those should not be mixed up with the much more popular glossy photo papers for inkjet printers which can render your laserprinter useless so please check carefully your 120gr paper if that is really usable on laserprinters.

And be aware that the gloss of the print is not defined by the paper but by the toner - a matte printing toner will do that as well on a glossy paper, and that does not look very good. So if your toner prints glossy it may look o.k. on a glossy paper. And be aware that you won't gain any more color saturation if you use a glossy paper instead of a normal paper which is pretty different to inkjet printing.
And since you are planning to use a 120g paper you need to adjust the temperature in your fusing unit - typically selecting a heavy paper type in the driver but you still may have a problem that the toner may not adhere well to the paper - you need to test - but the look of a printout may not meet your expectations

 

[SkedAddled]

As mentioned, confirm that your paper selection is for glossy laser output.

Notwithstanding the fact you've made cutouts on the result you prefer,
I notice a lot of wrinkling or shrinkage to the paper: nothing is smooth.

Seeing as your print appears to be some sort of mechanical control panel labeling,
I'd strongly suggest a plastic lamination or a Lucite panel to overlay the print.
These options will be far more resistant to wear of normal use than a simple
glossy print on paper, such as the similar Lucite panels I've dealt with
in assembling suspension control panels for General Dynamics' US military land vehicles.

I see where you're going with this project. If it's needed to be a glossy overlay for a control panel,
it must be reverse printed to the inside of a clear plastic layer or laminated if it needs to be durable.
Common office laminators will certainly suffice for experimental or prototype works.

 

[GaryR]

Paper quality is set to glossy, 120g
The wrinkling is due to heavy use over one year, and I have a cat
The cutouts are for a flight simulation controller. I could laminate, yes, but the layout changes depending on what I feel is most effective at the time.

Thank you for the reply and thoughtful comments.

 

[SkedAddled]

For what it may be worth to you, Gary, another option to protect
the paper and give it a glossy surface, is to apply heavy clear packing tape.
The super-thin cheap stuff isn't such a great option, while the thicker
premium stuff is a better option. It's easily applied to paper, easily trimmed
with scissors, and costs very little.

I suspect the negative issue you may have with this suggestion is
the limited width of tapes available to non-commercial buyers,
but this process will solve your issue in minutes if you're okay
with some overlapping of the tape.

Print it, tape it, then do the cutouts. Job done.

 

[Smile]

You can try pause printer spooler in windows for your printer, then put 10 sheets of office paper and send print job from notepad with some text for all 10 pages. Can be few characters does not matter. This will preheat the fuser. The 11 sheet should be your design on for paper with correct paper settings.

The trick is to print all 11 pages in one go by unpausing the printer spooler. The glossy finish is made by using the correct heat amount.

The other trick is to take a small paint brush and apply few strokes coat full lenght fuser of special silicone oil to fuser rollers. Silicone oil type SS, part no. A2579550