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I occasionally need to print about a hundred envelopes (a couple of times per year).

I have a laser printer which bends the envelopes as it prints them, rendering them almost unusable, and an inkjet printer which leaves random blotches of ink around the edges of the envelopes.

The inkjet printer is dying and needs to be replaced.
Are there any inkjet printers that can print bulk envelopes well?

I'd prefer not to get a second laser printer.

Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
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SLaks
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3 Answers3

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If the problem with the laser printer is just that it's bending the envelopes, can you just open the back tray of the printer so that it has a straighter paper path?

Alex
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    +1 great idea if possible on the printer. – Supercereal Nov 12 '10 at 16:56
  • Many HP Laser printer pick up from the front when using the paper tray, causing the paper to make a 180 deg turn to go over the fuser, then another 180 deg turn to exit the printer on the top. Using the Manual feed tray, eliminates the first 180 turn, and opening the back eliminates the second. So the paper goes straight through. You may see a bit of curl due to heat, but you may be able to adjust the temps on the printer itself. – BillN Nov 12 '10 at 17:26
  • I have a Borther HL4040CN. I wasn't aware of this option; I'll try it. Thanks. – SLaks Nov 12 '10 at 17:36
  • Unfortunately, my printer can't do this. http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/eu/eu_ot/en/colorlaserpri/hl4040cn_all/spec/index.html `No face-up tray (no straight paper path)`. – SLaks Nov 12 '10 at 17:41
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After reading online it looks like most can but only certain ones do it without constantly jamming. Here are some printers others have had good luck printing on envelopes with.

Edit: If you want a real envelope printer try Here.

Supercereal
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  • However, that's five years old. – SLaks Nov 12 '10 at 16:32
  • Was just about to post that. It is a bit old, printer models are out of date, but technology hasn't changed much since then. What it boils down to is that most inkjets will handle mild envelope printing, most these days will even have tray adjustments to allow it, but none will be ideal for the task. – MaQleod Nov 12 '10 at 16:32
  • @SLaks, not much has changed with ink jets in 5 years. Wifi connectivity? Thats about it. – Supercereal Nov 12 '10 at 16:35
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    A printer with a the option of a straight paper path would be a plus for printing envelopes. – RSMoser Nov 12 '10 at 16:49
  • @RSMoser, good point. – Supercereal Nov 12 '10 at 16:55
  • I ended up getting a Canon MX870 (the sequel of the one recommended in that link), and it worked very well. – SLaks Jan 06 '11 at 16:13
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In the past I have had inkjet printers that let me adjust the input tray for envelopes or even had a separate slot to put them in to make sure they were guided properly through the works of the computer.

chrispt
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