What Is Duplex Printing

When you purchase a printer, you may place extra emphasis on its environmental sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Printers with duplex printing capabilities can achieve a fusion of both. Duplex printing plays an important role in office environments. In this blog, we will delve into the meaning, working principle, and operation methods of duplex printing, as well as list some popular double-sided printer models for you.

What Is Duplex Printing?

Duplex printing, also known as double-sided printing, can be used in laser printers or inkjet printers. It is a technology that can print on both sides of a piece of paper. Printers with duplex printing capabilities typically have a model suffix with the letter "d," such as the HP LaserJet Pro MFP M428fdw. Unlike single-sided printing, double-sided printing reduces paper costs, optimizes paper usage, and increases efficiency.

What Is a Duplexer in a Printer

Having a duplexer on your printer is very convenient for users who frequently print two-sided documents. What is printer duplexer? In a printer, a duplexer is a specific component that enables the printer to automatically print on both sides of a piece of paper without having to flip it manually. Its location may vary depending on the printer model and brand. Most often, it's located inside the printer housing, usually near the paper path. Sometimes, it may also be located on the back of the printer or in another designated location.

How Duplex Printing Works

(Automatic) duplex printing usually works like this. 

Issue The Command: First, you select duplex printing in the printer settings. After the printer receives the print command, it pulls a piece of paper from the paper tray and sends it through the printer's paper path.

Side-1 Printing: The printer prints one side of the page onto the paper as the paper moves through the printer. After the first side is printed, the paper will be temporarily held in place.

Paper Flip: The printer's duplexer then turns the paper over or feeds it back into the printer to begin printing the second side.

Side-2 Printing: The printer then prints the other side of the page onto the paper.

Finally, the printed page comes out of the printer's output tray, now containing content on both sides.

Types of Duplex Printing

There are two types of duplex printing: automatic duplex printing and manual duplex printing. Automatic duplex printing means that the printer can automatically print on both sides of the paper without manual intervention. This feature simplifies the printing process and saves time. Manual duplex printing, on the other hand, relies on the user to flip and reinsert the paper. This is a viable option for printers that lack automatic duplex printing.

How to Perform Duplex Printing?

1. Auto Duplex Printing

No matter which device you use to print on both sides, just find and select the duplex option. If you don't need this feature for printing, uncheck this option through “Printing Preferences” or “System Preferences.”

(1) How to print double-sided on a computer?

Before you begin, make sure your printer supports duplex printing. Otherwise, the printer cannot achieve double-sided printing. At this point, you will need to print on both sides manually, see the next section, "Manual Duplex Printing," to learn how to do this.

①For Windows Operating System

Open the document you want to print, select "File," and click "Print" to enter the print menu. You can also jump to the print menu through the "Ctrl" + "P" shortcut command. Then select "Duplex Printing," choose "Flip on long edge" or "Flip on short edge," and finally confirm "OK" to print.

If you want to print a web page, the steps are slightly different. Press "Ctrl" + "P" to quickly enter the menu. Click "More Settings," and you will see the "Duplex Printing" option. Check it, then select "Flip on long edge" or "Flip on short edge," and finally, "Print."

②For Mac Operating System

• Click and open the document you want to print.
• Select "File" and then "Print" to enter the Apple print menu. You can also press "Command" + "P" to quickly jump here.
• Then, choose a printer with duplex printing capabilities.
• Click "Copies & Pages" to open the dialog box and select "Layout." Here, you can find the "Two-Sided" option. Select "Long-Edge binding" or "Short-Edge binding".
• Finally, click "Print" to get double-sided printing.

 

When printing a web page, the steps are slightly different. 

• Click "File" at the top and select "Print."
• Select "Print using system dialogue..."
• In the print menu, check "Two-Sided" next to the "Copies." Then confirm "Long-Edge binding" or "Short-Edge binding."
• Finally, click "Print" to get a printout.

 

The text displayed above may change depending on the printer brand or model. You can select the corresponding option based on the keywords. For example, sometimes the print menu may show "Print on both sides (flip on long edge)" or "Print on both sides (flip on short edge)." It's best to check your printer's manual, which usually has detailed instructions.

 

Tips:

Flip on Long Edge/Long-Edge Binding: When you select this option, it means that the content on the page will be flipped along the longer side of the paper, such as a book.

Flip on Short Edge/Short-Edge Binding: When you select this, it means the content on the page will flip along the shorter side of the paper, such as a calendar.

Watch this video to understand the difference between long-side flipping and short-side flipping more intuitively.

(2) How to print double-sided on a mobile phone?

Whether it's an Android phone or an iPhone, you can use a printer software app for duplex printing. Common printer software applications include Canon PRINT, Brother iPrint&Scan, Epson iPrint, HP Print Service, and Samsung Mobile Print.

• First, make sure that your printer supports automatic double-sided printing and is connected to the printer software.
• Enter your printer software interface and select the document you want to print. Then, press "Print" (which may be text or icon) to enter the print settings.
• After setting the size, print quality, print color, and number of copies, select "Double-sided." Sometimes, you can also choose its double-sided flip direction: "Long Edge" or "Short Edge."
• Finally, press "Start" or "OK" and wait for the duplex printing results.

2. Manual Duplex Printing

This works for most printers, even if your printer doesn't automatically print on both sides. The biggest difference between manual duplex printing and automatic duplex printing is that the former requires you to flip the pages yourself, while the latter only relies on the machine.

(1) Manually Print on Both Sides

• Open the page to print, click “File,” and then choose “Print.”
• Select “Manually Print on Both Sides,” and then click “Print.” Your printer will print the first side of all pages.
• Follow the computer screen prompts, take out the printed paper, flip it in the correct direction, and then put it back into your printer.
• Click "Continue" or "OK," your printer will start printing the second side content, and double-sided printing is completed.

(2) Only Print Odd Pages

• Click and open the document you want to print, select "File," then "Print."
• Then click "Custom Print" to open the dialog box, slide down to select "Only Print Odd Pages," and choose "Print" to start printing odd pages.
• After printing, flip the paper and reinsert it into your printer.
• Change "Only Print Odd Pages" to "Only Print Even Pages," and then choose "Print" to print again. At this time, the printed paper will contain content on both sides.

How to determine the correct flip direction of a printed page?

Most printers will prompt you for correct paper flipping, so follow the on-screen prompts. We also found a related video from HP, which covers the paper flip direction during manual duplex printing of HP printers (section 02:00 to 02:52). Alternatively, you can print a test page and try different flip directions to find the right one.

Hot Printer Models with Duplex Printing

We’ve listed some duplex printers that can handle auto duplex printing work brilliantly.

Popular Printer Models	Printer Cartridges
Brother DCP-L2640DW	Brother TN830, TN830XL
Brother HL-L2460DW	Brother TN830, TN830XL
Brother HL-L3220CDW	Brother TN229, TN229XL
Brother HL-L3280CDW	Brother TN229, TN229XL
Brother HL-L8360CDW	Brother TN431, TN433, TN436, TN439
Brother MFC-J1010DW	Brother LC401, LC401XL
Brother MFC-J4335DW	Brother LC406, LC406XL
Brother MFC-L2820DW	Brother TN830, TN830XL
Canon Color imageCLASS MF656Cdw	Canon 067, 067H
Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw	Canon 069, 069H
Canon imageCLASS MF465dw	Canon 070, 070H
Canon PIXMA TR7020a	Canon PG-260/CL-261
Canon PIXMA TR8620a	Canon PGI-280/CLI-281
Epson EcoTank ET-2850	Epson 502
Epson EcoTank ET-3830	Epson 502
Epson EcoTank ET-3850	Epson 502
Epson Workforce Pro WF-4830	Epson T822, T822XL
HP Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw	HP 218A, 218X
HP LaserJet Enterprise M406dn	HP 58A, 58X
HP LaserJet Enterprise M610dn	HP 147A, 147X, 147Y
HP OfficeJet 8015e	HP 910, 910XL
HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e	HP 936, 936e

Ending

Duplex printing is a cost-effective and time-saving printing solution that you may know more about after reading this blog. By the way, it’s worth noting that double-sided printing can easily cause paper jams due to multiple movements. You can refer to our blog “How to Fix Epson Printer Paper Jam” to troubleshoot, which is valid for all brands of printers.