Printer that handles loose 3x5 cards?

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Hello everybody.

I love 3x5 cards and use them for all sorts of things including:

  • To do lists and calendars (hipster PDA)
  • Weight watchers tracking
  • Shopping lists
  • Study cards

I've made some nice Word templates for all of the above but it's always a challenge to get them to print well on my printer (Epson C86) because they tend to get misaligned.

Does anybody have a printer that works really well for standard loose 3x5 index cards?

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have you tried a photo printer or maybe even using the larger sized cards?

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I've never used a dedicated photo printer. Do you have any personal recommendations?

I could use larger cards but I really prefer the 3x5's which are cheaper and more portable.

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Specializes in ED.

I used to work for Epson, and still swear by their printers. My printer is a CX4800 and I have printed many notecards on them. The printers are not very expensive for the quality you get. You can find them in models that are just printers, some all-in-ones, and some photo/cd printers.

Good luck!

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Is there such a thing as a sheet of perforated 3x5s that you can set up like printing labels then tear them apart when it's done?

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Specializes in Acute Medicine.

I have a Brother ML 1710 and I can print 3 x 5 cards on it. The manual says I can just put them in the tray, but I have found that sometimes the cards don't get picked up to be printed.

As an alternative, I feed them in individually through the manual feed slot. As long as I take the regular paper out of the tray the printer will wait for me to insert each card individually. I have to make sure I don't pause too long between cards or the printer will time out.

I suggest buying cheap, thin cards from a dollar store as opposed to good quality, heavier cards if you are using a laser printer as I am. The toner will fuse better when the heat can pass through the card stock.

In any printer, you need to read the manual to see what the maximum weight paper can be printed on it. Some printers can't move heavier card stock to the printing area.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
Is there such a thing as a sheet of perforated 3x5s that you can set up like printing labels then tear them apart when it's done?

Back in the days of tractor-feed printers, they did have them like that in an accordion-folded stack. I haven't seen 'em around in quite awhile. They do have letter-size sheets with cards on 'em but they require you to format your document to have multiple cards per page.

In either case, they're (a) more expensive and (b) kind of a hassle to tear apart.

I really prefer to use standard index cards. My Epson C86 does a tolerable job but not a good job; say 3 stars out of 5. I'd really like a 4/5 or 5/5 model.

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Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.
Is there such a thing as a sheet of perforated 3x5s that you can set up like printing labels then tear them apart when it's done?

I believe they sell those at officemax

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