xamman wrote:
i tried adding more paper. now at 1cm of paper in tray the printer
grabs a sheet each time.

i closed the rear (as otherwise the paper would just be ejected out the
back) and did some test prints. however i am noticing each page is
emerging with the front end bent at the right
(photo 13kb below) . what does this suggest to you?

http://www.geocities.com/xamman19/bent.JPG

thx

Baron has as good a suggestion as I could give. Look carefully at the
paper tray, particularly the part that lifts. Also look at the rollers
and see if there is any obstruction. Most of the time you can find some
reason for a sheet feed failure, but you could be working with worn parts?