Is Magnetic Inkjet Paper Safe for Printers?
If you use refrigerator magnets or magnetic business cards to help with marketing, it may be more convenient and cost-effective to print these items yourself rather than purchase them. Magnetic inkjet papers can help with that, but they should be used with caution. While magnetic inkjet papers are compatible with most inkjet printers, they require special storage and handling, and they do not work with laser printers.
The Medium
Magnetic inkjet paper consists of a laminate that combines paper with magnetic sheeting. Although most products in this category come in letter-sized sheets pre-cut to feed through a desktop output device, some manufacturers produce roll-fed magnetic paper in widths suitable for use in a wide-format inkjet printer. You can cut the material with scissors, a razor-blade knife or a cutting plotter. Additionally, some sheet-fed media incorporate scoring to trim out a set of 10 business cards from each page.
Advantages
Magnetic inkjet paper quickly produces short-run promotional magnets that can be incorporated into a client mailing or a presentation. The sheets are compatible with most standard desktop inkjet printers manufactured after 1999, but you should double-check compatibility with your specific printer. The soft, flexible material is easy to cut with standard scissors and can hold text, graphics, and photos printed from any software, including word processors and graphics applications.
Disadvantages
Because magnets attract other magnets, you won’t be able to load multiple sheets of this special substrate into your printer at the same time. The sheets would stick together and fail to load correctly. Likewise, the thickness of these sheets mandates feeding them one at a time. They require special storage away from recordable, erasable items such as audio or data tapes, whose contents they may damage. Magnetic inkjet paper doesn’t accommodate outdoor use, moisture or light exposure. For the best chances of printing success, your output hardware needs a straight, simple paper path from the feeder to the output tray, avoiding the prospect of curling the sheets or dislodging pre-scored items such as business cards. Finally, because of their cost, save these sheets for after you’ve proofed and verified your design on plain paper.
Risks
Magnetic paper poses significant risks to your hardware when fed through a laser printer rather than an inkjet device. The material, like most specialty media designed for inkjet use, cannot withstand the heat of the fuser assembly, which bonds toner to paper. Magnetic paper, despite its designation as an inkjet-friendly medium, requires caution in inkjet devices as well. Some hardware controls parts of its operation with electromagnets, which can be disrupted by magnetic media. Other devices contain ferrous metals, which attract and hold the magnet.
