HP Color LaserJet 5500 Printer series - Manual (Page 68)

Controlling print jobs
In the Microsoft Windows operating system, three settings affect how the printer driver tries
to pull paper when you send a print job. The Source, Type, and Size settings appear in
the Page Setup, Print, or Print Properties dialog boxes in most software programs. If you
do not change these settings, the printer automatically selects a tray, using the default
printer settings.
Source
Printing by Source means you choose a specific tray from which you want the printer to pull
paper. The printer tries to print from this tray, no matter what type or size is loaded in it. If
you choose a tray that is configured for a type or size that does not match your print job, the
printer does not print automatically. Instead, it waits for you to load the tray you chose with the
type or size of print paper for your print job. If you load the tray correctly, the printer begins
printing. If you press , the display allows you to choose other trays.
Note If you have difficulties printing by Source, see Precedence for print settings (software) .
Type and Size
Printing by Type or Size means you want the printer to pull paper or print paper from the
first tray that is loaded with the type or size that you choose. Selecting paper by type rather
than source is similar to locking out trays and helps protect special paper from accidental
use. (However, selecting the Any setting does not enable this tray lockout function.) For
example, if a tray is configured for letterhead, and you specify the driver to print on plain
paper, the printer will not pull the letterhead from that tray. Instead, it will pull paper from
a tray that has plain paper loaded and is configured for plain paper on the printer control
panel. Selecting paper by type and size results in significantly better print quality for heavy
paper, glossy paper, and transparencies. Using the wrong setting can result in unsatisfactory
print quality. Always print by Type for special print media such as labels or grayscale
transparencies. Always print by Size for envelopes.
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If you want to print by Type or Size and the trays have not been configured for a certain
type or size, load the paper or print media into Tray 1. Then, in the printer driver,
select the Type or Size from the Page Setup dialog box, the Print dialog box, or the
Print Properties dialog box.
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If you often print on a certain type or size of paper, the printer administrator (for a network
printer) or you (for a local printer) can configure a tray for that type or size (see
Using the
embedded Web server or Configuring input trays for type and size). Then, when you
choose that type or size as you print a job, the printer pulls from the tray configured for
that type or size.
Precedence for print settings (software)
Changes made to print settings are prioritized (or take precedence) depending on where
the changes are made:
58 Chapter 4 Printing tasks EN_WW