Dear HP Forums,
My problem is simple, but the solution seems impossible. I own two of HP's top-of-the-line printers for home use (Officejet 8500A and Photosmart 7520), and between the two of them, I cannot correctly complete one of the most basic print jobs without complicated workarounds: Print a 4x6 photo on HP Everyday Glossy Photopaper.
The actual size of that paper isn't listed as an option on the Photosmart 7520. In fact, any paper size not in HP's pre-defined list seems to be off limits, since there is no option to enter a user-defined paper size. As described below, I've unsuccessfully tried (1) making a custom paper size in Windows, and (2) running the printer with different drivers. Strangly enough, HP's OSX drivers allow custom paper sizes for any printer installed on my Mac, but my photo editing setup requires this functionality on my Windows machine.
Here is how I noticed the problem: HP's Everyday Glossy Photopaper (4x6) is actually 4.0 x 6.5, and between my two printers only the Photosmart 7520 produces true photographic prints. Using that printer, the paper size options are limited. The closest match is 4x6, but that leaves a 0.5 white area on the side of every print. Because I print many photos, I simply don't have time to cut them all.
The biggest problem is that there is no option in the Windows drivers for the Photosmart 7520 to enter a custom paper size - none! Windows 8 - my PC's OS - has an option to create a customized paper size for system-wide use. But even after doing so, the custom paper size will not appear in the dropdown list of paper sizes available in 7520's print options. Even if my other printer could do this (the 8500A) in Windows, it wouldn't matter because it can't print photos nearly as well as the 7520.
My next step in Windows was to install print drivers for an older Officejet 9800 printer that listed "custom" as a paper size, which prompted entry of the paper dimensions when selected. That "solution" came from the HP forums. Printing with a different driver, however, introduces a new set of issues, disabling all features the 7520 is capable of but that the Officejet 9800's driver don't support. For instance, the driver would limit the 7520's print resolution to that of an Deskjet 9800 (i.e. 4800x1200) even though the 7520 is capable of printing at double that resolution - 9600x2400 - and who knows what other issues may pop up later down the line. The tradeoff is not worth it.
Given that I have nearly $1,000 worth of HP's printers in my apartment, I should be able to do something as simple as tell the printer what size paper to use. But alas, I cannot. I've used HP products for nearly 20 years, and they have gradually declined in quality with each release of a newer product. Hopefully I can receive an straight-forward answer for how to simply enable a "custom" paper size option on the drop down list of the 7520's paper sizes. If not, I will have to return my new Photosmart, sell my Officejet Pro, and switch to another brand entirely.
Thanks in advance
-Eggz