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The Daily Insight

Why won't my Mac let me print double sided?

Author

Ava Robinson

Updated on March 09, 2026

But first, even if you don't see the double sided printing option in the regular dialog window of your printer, it might just mean that the feature is not turned on. Choose your printer and then click Options & Supplies… In Options, check the Double Printing Unit feature. Hit OK.

Likewise, people ask, how do I turn on two-sided printing on a Mac?

For Mac Users (Screenshots based on the macOS Catalina)

  1. Go to System Preferences.
  2. Select Printers & Scanners.
  3. Double click on the printer you are enabling double sided printing on from the list.
  4. Click on the Settings button for the printer.
  5. Select the Options tab.
  6. Make sure "Duplex Unit" printing is selected.

Also Know, why is there no option to print double sided? It likely has the correct setting, but if not, there is an option to flip on the long edge or short edge. Go into Control Panel > Printers >right click your printer > choose Printer Preferences, under 'Print on both sides of paper' there is a drop down options box.

Similarly one may ask, why can't I print double sided PDF on Mac?

If you do not have a printer that supports duplexing, the only way you can print duplex is to print one side of the page, then flip them over and print the other side. No utility on either a Mac or a PC can change this.

How do you print double sided on Mac if two-sided is off?

Go to the Printers tab and select your printer from the list. In the Administrators drop-down list, choose Set Default Options. To enable double-sided printing, select Long-edge Binding or Short-Edge Binding for the Two-Sided option. To disable double-sided printing, choose Off.

Related Question Answers

How do I turn on double sided printing?

Enabling double-sided printing in Windows
  1. Open Start> Settings> Devices, and select the Printers and Scanners tab in the left menu. Click on the printer you would like to print double-sided from and select Manage.
  2. Select Printer Properties from the left menu.
  3. You are now ready to print double-sided on this printer.

How do I turn on double sided printing on my Macbook Pro?

Change the Duplex Printing Options on a Mac

On the Print dialog window, select the third pull down menu and change Copies & Pages to Layout. The Layout dialog box will give you the option of turning duplex printing off. It will also allow you to choose the orientation of the duplex printing.

How do I print double sided on Mac 2021?

Here's how:
  1. Click on the File menu at the top of the screen and click Print.
  2. Click on More Settings.
  3. Scroll down and select Print using system dialogue.
  4. Tick the Two-Sided box.
  5. Click on Print.

How do I change printer settings on a Mac?

Use Printers & Scanners preferences to manage printers and scanners. To learn how to add a printer to use with your Mac, see Add a printer on Mac. To change these preferences, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Printers & Scanners.

How do you enable cups on a Mac?

To enable CUPS: Select and copy 'cupsctl WebInterface=yes' from the page. Then, use the search box in the top-right hand corner of your screen, and search for Terminal. Once you are in Terminal, paste (Ctrl + V) in 'cupsctl WebInterface=yes' and hit Enter.

How do I stop double sided printing?

  1. Open the Printers window.
  2. Right-click on the printer icon, and then select Printing Preferences.
  3. Make sure 1-Sided Print is selected from the 2-Sided Printing pull-down menu.
  4. Click on the Earth Smart Settings button (green box) at the bottom, left of the window.
  5. Remove the check mark from the 2-Sided Print check box.

How do I manually print a PDF double sided?

In Acrobat or Reader, choose File> Print. Select Print On Both Sides Of Paper in the printer dialog. Click Print.

Why has my Brother printer stopped printing double sided?

If the Paper Adjustment Lever for 2-sided(Duplex) Printing is not correctly set for the paper size, paper jams may occur and the print will be out of position on the paper.

What is reverse print?

Top Illustrates Traditional Printing; Bottom Illustrates Reverse Printing. In the printing industry, a Reverse refers to any text, logo or graphic that is produced using ink to form its outline, allowing the underlying paper color to form the actual image.

How do I print double sided on Asus?

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  1. Start menu > "Control Panel"
  2. Choose "Printers and Faxes"
  3. Right click your primary printer.
  4. Choose "Printing Preferences"
  5. Choose "Finishing" tab.
  6. Check "Print on both sides"
  7. Click "Apply" to set as the default.

What does collate mean?

correctly assembled sequence

Why is two sided greyed out Mac?

The double side checkbox refers to automatic print duplexing, not a feature available for your printer and therefore it is grayed out.