HP Officejet Ppro 8630 e-all-in-one 2nd Tray doesn't function properly.

Question

I originally purchased this printer (today in fact) because it seemed better to have one machine instead of three in the office and I also required the 2nd tray. After getting it back to the office, setting it up, going through everything, I found out that the 2nd tray is essentially useless.  Previous (and hopefully future) models of this line, came with a dual driver that allowed the trays to function seperate from each other. This current model uses the second tray essestially as storage. You can not automatically print from one tray or the other. You can only have a default tray and/or a locked tray. I would definately NOT recommend this product to anyone that requires seperate printing capability.. 

Answer 1

Hi TTarcon, I am very sorry for the confusion, but I would like to help clear some things up. The second tray will only support plain paper yes, but the first tray can be used for plain paper, photo paper, envelopes and cards. You can dictate which tray you want to print to when you select a print job. Image source: Specifications page.  You could load the first tray with one paper type and print to it when you want to print on that particular paper type.  I found the following information in the user guide; Working with trays When using more than one tray, you can make use of the tray features provided and change the settings to achieve a better experience. By default, the printer draws paper from Tray 1. If Tray 1 is empty and Tray 2 is installed and contains paper, the printer will draw paper from Tray 2. You can change the behaviors using the following features:● Default Tray: Set the default tray from which the printer draws paper first.●Tray Lock: Lock a tray to prevent it from accidental use; for example, when you have loaded special paper (such as letterhead or preprinted paper). The printer will not use a locked tray even when the other tray is empty. NOTE: For better experience, load only one type of paper in a tray.NOTE: Tray 2 supports only plain paper. To achieve this Follow these steps Have paper loaded in both trays and use paper from one tray if the other tray is empty.● Load paper in both trays. For more information, see Load paper on page 23.● Turn off tray lock. Have paper loaded in both trays and use paper from one of the trays first.● Load paper in both trays.● Set the desired tray as the default tray. Be able to choose from plain paper and another paper type that you use occasionally. NOTE: For better experience, load only one type of paper in a tray.● Load special paper in main input tray and plain paper in Tray 2.● Lock the main input tray and set Tray 2 as the default tray. To change tray settingsNOTE: You can also change the tray settings from the printer software or EWS.To access EWS and the printer software, see Embedded web server on page 118 and Open the HPprinter software (Windows) on page 37.1. Make sure the printer is turned on.2. Make sure you have turned on automatic selection of paper source.3. From the printer control panel display, touch and slide your finger across the screen and touchSetup.4. Touch Tray Setup, touch Default Tray or Tray Lock, and then select the appropriate option.  To turn on automatic selection of tray or paper source (Windows) 1. Depending on your operating system, do one of the following:● Windows 8: On the Start screen, click Control Panel, click View devices and printers; right click the printer icon, and then click Printing preferences.● Windows 7: Click Start, click Devices and Printers; right-click the printer icon, click Printing preferences, and then select your printer name.● Windows Vista and Windows XP: Click Start, click Printers or Printers and Faxes; right-click the printer icon, click Printing preferences.2. On the Printing preferences tab, click the Paper/Quality tab.3. Select Printer Auto Select from the Paper Source drop-down list in the Tray Selection area.4. Click OK twice to close the pages and accept changes. HP Officejet Pro 8630 user guide.  I truly hope you can now go from less than satisfied to loving your HP Printer  Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. Thanks for reaching out to the HP Forums!