Fix Printer Tray Selection Reverting to Tray 1 Each Print Job

Quick fix: Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners → [your printer] → Printing preferences (not Printer properties). Set the default paper source to your preferred tray (e.g., Tray 2). Click Apply → OK. This changes the driver default; per-print overrides in apps still work.

Your office printer has two trays: Tray 1 for letterhead, Tray 2 for plain paper. You want default prints to use Tray 2 (plain), with Tray 1 reserved for manual letter printing. But every print job defaults to Tray 1 anyway. The cause is the printer driver’s tray default, which is set independently of app print dialogs.

What causes this

Printers have two layers of tray selection. The driver default is what the printer uses when no specific tray is requested. The app override is when the print dialog explicitly picks a tray. Even if you set the driver default to Tray 2, apps that don’t specify a tray will still use the default; if the driver default is stuck on Tray 1, all output goes there.

The setting that affects this is in Printing preferences, not Printer properties — two similar-named dialogs with different effects. Most users edit the wrong one.

Method 1: Set default paper source in Printing preferences

The right place for the default tray.

1. Open Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Click your printer.
3. Click Printing preferences. NOT Printer properties. The difference matters.
4. In the dialog, find Paper Source, Paper Tray, or Input Tray — the label varies by manufacturer.
5. Pick the tray you want as default: e.g., Tray 2, Cassette 2, Lower Tray.
6. Click Apply → OK.
7. Print a test from any app without changing the print dialog. Output should come from your chosen tray.

This is the standard fix. Resolves 80% of “tray defaults to wrong tray” issues.

Method 2: Force tray selection via Printer Properties → Advanced → Printing Defaults

For when Printing preferences changes don’t persist or affect specific user accounts only.

1. Open Printers & scanners. Click your printer → Printer properties (NOT Printing preferences).
2. Switch to the Advanced tab.
3. Click Printing Defaults button.
4. The Printing Defaults dialog opens — same UI as Printing preferences, but this affects new users and shared print queues.
5. Set the Paper Source to your preferred tray. Click Apply → OK.
6. For shared printers on a print server: Settings here affect every client that connects.
7. For local printers: Printing Defaults overrides per-user settings when first installed; existing users keep their Printing preferences. Both must align for consistent behavior.
8. After both Printing preferences AND Printing Defaults are set, the tray default should be honored across all apps.

This handles edge cases where Printing preferences alone doesn’t propagate.

Method 3: Configure tray-locking at the printer itself

For when even both Windows dialogs don’t fix it — the printer firmware may be overriding.

1. At the printer’s control panel (LCD), navigate to Settings → Paper Settings or Tray Configuration.
2. Verify each tray’s paper type is set correctly: Tray 1 = Letterhead, Tray 2 = Plain Paper. If they don’t match, Windows may auto-select based on paper type mismatch.
3. Check for Auto Select Tray or Tray Switching settings. If enabled, the printer overrides Windows’s tray choice based on paper type or availability. Set to Off if you want strict per-app tray selection.
4. For network printers managed via web interface (HP JetDirect, Canon Remote UI, Xerox CentreWare): log in to the printer’s admin web page, navigate to Configuration → Trays, lock the default tray.
5. For printers shared via print server: configure the print queue on the server — clients inherit server-side defaults.
6. For HP printers specifically: in HP Smart app or HP Web Jetadmin, configure Tray Settings → Paper Behavior → set strict tray selection.

This is the printer-side configuration that overrides Windows-side settings on some firmware.

How to verify the fix worked

• Open any document in Word, Notepad, or Edge. Press Ctrl+P. Don’t change tray in the print dialog — just print.
• Output comes from the tray you set as default.
• Re-check Printing preferences. The Paper Source value should still be your chosen tray (didn’t auto-revert).
• For network/shared printers: ask another client to test — they should also see the new default.

If none of these work

If the printer keeps using Tray 1 despite all settings, the cause may be specific app behavior. Some apps override the driver default: Excel print previews, Adobe Acrobat, and certain Office templates have their own tray selection in document properties. Check the document’s page setup. Reset printer driver: in Settings → Printers & scanners, remove the printer entirely, then re-add. The new driver registration uses your current Printing Defaults, eliminating any leftover state. For documents with embedded tray selection: Word, Excel, and Publisher embed tray choices in the document file. Editing the document’s Page Setup may show Page Source: Default or Tray 1. Set to Default to use printer default. For PDF printing: Adobe Acrobat’s print dialog has its own Paper Source dropdown. Make sure it’s set to Choose paper source by PDF page size for automatic selection that uses the driver default. For PCL vs. PostScript driver mismatch: some printers offer both; PCL drivers handle tray selection differently than PostScript. Try the alternate driver type from the printer manufacturer’s site.

Bottom line: Printing preferences sets the per-user driver default for tray. Printing Defaults (via Printer Properties → Advanced) sets the system-wide default. Both should align; the printer’s firmware tray-config may also need adjustment.