Use the envelope feeder on LaserJet 4000s

Oct 14, '05 05:30:00AM

Contributed by: bdog

Since Mac OS X.3.9 (and still a problem in X.4.2), there has been a bug with the HP LaserJet 4000. The problem is that you cannot use the envelope feeder. The job just goes to one of the other trays, and you cannot select "Envelope Feeder" in the pop-up menu in the "Paper Feed" part of the print sheet. I even found a 'hint' on some website with directions to manually set the source to "Envelope Feeder" by editing one of the com.apple.print.*.plist files. I tried it, and even though it showed "Envelope Feeder" selected in the pop-up menu (and still disabled), it didn't work.

Then I called HP's tech support and the tech had the answer. Well, if it's posted here no one else has to pay for a call.

The fix: Change the PPD for your printer config to HP LaserJet 4300, and apply settings. Now change the PPD back to HP LaserJet 4000, select your options (like envelope feeder) and apply settings. Now keep in mind that "Envelope Feeder" will still be disabled in the "Paper Feed" pop-up menu, but if you leave it on "Auto Select," it should work if you have setup "Page Setup" set to an envelope's paper size.

I'm not sure if this affects more printers than just the LaserJet 4000...

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Mac OS X Hints
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