Printing on both sides of your paper is not only resourceful -- it's easy! But, there are two ways to do this and first you need to know the capabilities of your current printer.
Option 1 - If you have a printer with a duplexer, then you can print on both sides automatically. Read this article to learn more about Automatic two-sided printing.
Option 2 - If you don't have a duplexer, then you can still print double-sided, but this must be done manually. Read this article to find out how.
Find out if your printer offers duplex printing
To determine if your printer supports duplex printing, consult your printer manual or look for the Two-sided (Duplex Printing) option under Printer Shortcuts in the Printer Properties dialog box on your PC.
If your printer supports this, it will print two-sided automatically. Read this article or watch this demo to learn more.
Don’t be daunted by a printer that doesn’t have a duplex printing feature; it’s simple to print double-sided manually.
Step 1: Consult your printer manual or print a test sheet if you’re not sure which side—face up or face down—gets printed. To print a test sheet, manually write a letter “A” on the top half of a plain piece of paper. Run it through you printer, face-down, with the “A” still at the top. If the printing appears on the same side of the paper as the “A” and is oriented correctly, you’ll know that your printer prints face-down. If not, adjust accordingly.
Step 2: For full-size 8.5" x 11 pages, enter the numbers of odd-numbered pages to be printed (1, 3, 5, and so on) in the Print dialog box.
Step 3: Load the paper and click OK to print the odd pages.
Step 4: Keep the pages in order and reload them into the printer, with the opposite side of the stack facing up this time. Make sure the top edge of your pages is the same for both odd and even pages so you don’t end up with upside-down printing on one side.
Step 5: Enter the even-numbered pages to be printed in reverse order (12, 10, 8. 6, and so on) in the Print dialog box and click OK to print.
Upgrade to a printer with automatic double-sided printing
There's no question that printing double-sided manually takes a bit more time and patience. If it's time for you to upgrade, and you'd like to have this capability, consider these HP printers:
Printable version
