how to...

Any printer can be used for duplex printing with most software, just by:

1. Printing the even-numbered pages.
2. Reinserting the paper in the paper cassette.
3. Printing the odd-numbered pages.

But there are a few traps. This page is a bucket to share what I've learned, to save you needing to reinvent the wheel.

This page is about duplex printing a document in a reasonable time, using the paper cartridge and two passes. You can of course print each page individually using a single sheet feeder or bypass slot, and people often do. But this is painfully slow and most often unnecessary.

Even printers which do support duplex are sometimes best used in this mode. Many of the low-end duplex units (and some of the high-end ones! No names...) wear out really quickly. So if you're having lots of paper jams in duplex mode, it might be worth trying this procedure.

But more important to me, this technique is a LOT faster than any low-end duplex unit. Those things are seriously SLOW. It's applicable to photocopiers too. Full-duplex photocopiers are great if they're feeding reliably and you can go away and come back when they're done. But if you're waiting for the output, think again.

Of course, making this work means not making mistakes. Mistakes cost you time, paper and toner, and it's very easy to get very confused, particularly when under pressure.

So try not to do anything new when you're in a hurry. That can be a real downer. But get this technique working, and it can be very quick and satisfying.

Good luck.

My standard procedures

Maybe I'll start by describing the two printers I use. Both offer face-down delivery. Normally, I'm printing A4 paper, to be bound along the long side. Here's how that works:

Brother HL-2040

(black and white laser)

The paper feeds from the front of the cartridge, and prints on the bottom of the paper. So the procedure is:

1. Print even pages only (doing it in this order this avoids having to turn each page around for binding, and also copes better if there are an odd number of pages - either order prints OK).

2. Rotate the ouput to face up - if binding book style (long edge), rotate book style (around the long edge) - and reinsert in the paper cartridge (if you'd printed odd first and there were an odd number of pages, you'd need to leave the last page out of course, as there's nothing more to print on it).

3. Print odd pages only.

HP Colour Laser Jet 1600

(four colour laser)

The paper feeds from the front of the cartridge, and prints on the top of the paper. So the procedure (for binding A4 longside):

1. Print odd pages only.

2. Rotate the ouput to face down, leading edge to the front, and reinsert in the paper cartridge.

3. Print even pages only.

4. Check the paper cartridge and remove the last page if it's still there (this means there were an odd number of pages; this procedure saves having to know).

The HP black cartridge costs a lot more per page than the Brother, so normally I print a copy on the Brother, and then decide which individual pages I want to reprint on the HP. In a commercial environment where time is money you probably wouldn't bother.

In more detail

What you need to know

• How does your printer feed?
  • Does it feed from the back of the cartridge, or from the front?
  • Does it print on the bottom of the paper, or on the top?
  • Does it deliver the output face up, or face down?
• What do you want to end up with?
  • Will the top of the page be the long side, or the short side?
  • Do you want to have the top of the front and back pages at the same edge, or on oppsite edges?

How does your printer feed?

Nearly all A4 printers have a 21cm carriage (drum) width, and so they feed the short edge of the paper. Most A3 printers (including many photocopiers) have a 29.7cm carriage, and feed A4 sideways. I'm just going to deal with A4, short-side-feeding printers. Both of my printers are of this type.

As said above, here are three things you need to know:

• Does it feed from the back of the cartridge, or from the front?

• Does it print on the bottom of the paper, or on the top (as loaded in ther cassette)?

• How does it deliver the output, face up or face down?

Forget the manual, it probably doesn't tell you anyway. Let's face it, if they had just a little customer focus they'd be telling you how to do this in the manual, rather than forcing you to work it out yourself with a little help from me. The only thing they're likely to tell is if there's an option of face up or face doen delivery.

So, just take the paper cartridge out and mark the top sheet in the left-hand-corner nearest to you with a little cross. Now put it back and print a page in portrait mode, and see where the cross is.

This is what it tells you:

• If the cross is on the same side as the printing, your printer prints on the top of the paper.
• If the cross is on the opposite side to the printing, your printer prints on the bottom of the paper.
• If the cross is on the top right-hand corner of the page (whether printed side or blank) then your printer feeds from the front of the paper cartridge.
• If the cross is on the bottom left-hand corner, it feeds from the back.
• If it's anywhere else, you didn't follow the instructions. That's fine providing it's deliberate. It's your print job. Just don't blame me...

And of course:

• If the printing is on the bottom of the sheet, it's face down delivery.
• If it's on the top, it's face up.

What do you want to achieve?

Landscape or portrait?

Landscape format has the top of the page along the long side; Portrait (probably the more normal) has the top along the short side.

Presumably you know which you want. If the document is a mixture, then it might be easiest to regard it as portrait, with some pages printed on their sides.

Binding...

The last question is, how do you want the back side oriented with respect to the front? Do you want them to share a common edge, or do you want the edge of the top of the front page to be the bottom of the back (and vice versa)?

Another way of expressing this is, do you want to bind it in book mode or calendar mode? Book mode means common top edge, so when bound at the left, like a book, all the pages are the right way up. Calendar mode means top at the opposite edges, so that if it's bound at the top like a wall calendar, the pages will again all be the right way up. We'll use these terms from here on.

Having now gathered the information...

Other printers

In time maybe I'll put a list here of some printers, and whether they print top or bottom, and feed front or back, etc.. But for now, you'll need to check your own which isn't all that hard, see above.