How to Print on Cardstock: Settings, Paper Types, and Setup

Printing on cardstock works when you match the driver’s media type and paper size to the stock, use the tray your printer’s manual specifies for heavy paper, and test one sheet before a full run.

A 110 lb cardstock jammed into a cassette built for plain paper can stop a project cold. Learning to print on cardstock comes down to three things lining up: what your printer’s manual says it can handle, which feed path you use, and what you tell the driver. Get those three to agree and heavy stock feeds cleanly.

Generic advice fails here because “cardstock” isn’t a fixed thickness. The usable range changes by model, and a package’s weight, coating, and size all matter. The steps below come from Canon’s official support documentation for its inkjet models, which is the clearest published guidance available.

What Settings Does Cardstock Actually Need?

Cardstock needs the media type and paper size set to match the loaded stock in both the printer driver and, on some models, the printer’s control panel. Canon’s documentation is direct about this: selecting a media type and paper size that match the intended paper improves print results.

Where the driver offers it, choose Card Stock. Canon maps commercially available card stock to the Card Stock driver setting and the printer’s registered Card stock media type. Leaving the driver on Plain Paper is the most common error — it can produce unsuitable ink volume, wrong fusing behavior, or feed problems.

Paper size is the second half of the job. A mismatch causes incorrect margins, scaling, or a paper-mismatch warning on the printer itself. Set both, in both places if your model requires it.

Which Tray Should Heavier Stock Go In?

Heavier stock belongs in the rear tray on models that specify it. Canon’s guidance for printing on cardboard says to select Card Stock as the media type and print from the rear tray.

The reason is simple: on some models only plain paper can load in the cassette. Non-plain media has to use an alternative feed path. Forcing cardstock into a plain-paper cassette is a reliable way to cause jams, and on a bad day, damage.

• Load a small quantity, aligned with the tray guides, and don’t overfill.
• Register the paper — closing the feed-slot cover prompts a confirmation of rear-tray size; the registered size and the print job should agree.
• Turn off automatic duplexing unless the manual explicitly supports cardstock duplexing. Thick sheets misfeed or fail to turn through the duplex path.

Before loading, check the stock itself for curled corners, moisture, dust, or damaged edges. Those small defects cause more feed failures than settings do.

Do Cardstock Types and Weights Behave the Same?

No — cardstock types behave differently, and weight alone doesn’t predict compatibility. Basis weight, metric grammage, coating, surface texture, and size all need checking against your model’s manual.

Canon’s documentation names real examples assigned to the Card Stock setting on documented models: Hammermill Premium Color Copy Cover 58 lb (216 g/m²) and Mondi Canon Top Colour Zero 67 lb (250 g/m²). Those examples apply to the documented models, not to every printer.

One rule that saves ruined paper and voided warranties: never infer laser compatibility from inkjet compatibility, or the reverse. Paper must be labeled for your printer technology and stay within the model’s thickness and weight limit. If your current printer is fighting you on every sheet, our roundup of printers built for cardstock handling covers models rated for heavier media.

What Do Custom Media Profiles Do?

Custom media profiles let some printers handle nonstandard stock that isn’t in the built-in list. Canon notes that non-standard paper may require a custom paper created with the Media Configuration Tool.

On Windows, update media information from the driver’s Maintenance tab after adding it. On macOS, use Canon IJ Printer Utility2 and its media-information update function. Then change both the driver and the printer’s registered media settings to the new profile — one without the other leaves the mismatch in place.

Canon’s guidance covers these steps in its media type and paper size support article, which walks through matching settings across driver and control panel.

The Order That Prevents Most Failures

Running these steps in sequence catches nearly every cardstock problem before it costs you paper.

1. Open your printer’s manual and confirm supported cardstock weight, dimensions, tray, and duplex limits.
2. Inspect the stock for curl, moisture, dust, or damaged edges.
3. Load a few sheets in the approved tray, aligned with the guides.
4. Set the exact paper size and Card Stock in the driver.
5. Disable automatic duplexing unless the manual permits it.
6. Print one test sheet — check feed direction, margins, color, smearing, and which side printed.
7. Let inkjet output dry fully before stacking or folding.
8. If feeding fails, stop. Switch to the approved rear or manual path, or drop to a lighter compatible stock.

Borderless printing and very thick or textured stock may be unsupported even when single-sided printing works. Check before you plan a full run around either.