Two Sided Printing Mac Greyed Out

New printers around my organization mean different default settings than what people are used to. On the Mac side, I had to look into saving Presets and changing the default behavior to make people happy. Duplexing (printing on both sides) by default seems like a great way to save paper but many people don’t care for it or it doesn’t work for professional printing. The copiers also have PIN codes on them to track printing by department. Having to enter this PIN at each print can be quite annoying when the copiers cancel any job that doesn’t include a PIN by default.

To configure the print settings, you start by looking from a print job, not under system preferences. In my example, I opened Safari and went to File, Print… This brings up the quick print screen you see below.

By clicking the down arrow at the end of the printer drop-down, it expands to the full list of options in the print dialog window.

Mar 09, 2015 But on the Mac I go to Print Booklet-Print Settings-Setup-Printer Choose Layout and the Duplex option is Greyed out. Since I'm building the book product on my Mac, I need to be able to do the whole workflow from the Mac. I'm in InDesign CC on both machines and printing to an HP Color Laserjet 5550 PCL 5. This seems like maybe a driver.

I've updated the drivers, but when I try and print two sided, the box under 'Layout' on the Print screen is grayed out. Is this because OS X doesn't recognize manual duplex as true duplex printing? The Layout section shows information based on the PPD for the respective printer. Duplex printing is grayed out in driver settings. Double sided duplex printing is only availible on “duo” models of Magicard printer, if you have a duo model but this options is still unavailible follow these steps. Update to the latest Driver and Firmware versions via the Drivers & Downloads section.

Two-sided printing is turned on by default on Mac for supported printers. This means all your print jobs can end up being printed on two-sides, in case you forget to turn off two-sided printing on your Mac. Disable Two-Sided Printing on Mac. Mar 09, 2015 But on the Mac I go to Print Booklet-Print Settings-Setup-Printer Choose Layout and the Duplex option is Greyed out. Since I'm building the book product on my Mac, I need to be able to do the whole workflow from the Mac. I'm in InDesign CC on both machines and printing to an HP Color Laserjet 5550 PCL 5. This seems like maybe a driver.

You can see some common printer settings now but a lot more customization is in the bottom drop-down, in this case labeled Safari. Clicking that gives a lot of options to choose from where multiple settings can be configured. The big settings that I have been asked about are printing to only one side instead of both sides by default and including a PIN code with a print job.

To change the 2-sided printing, you’ll find the settings under Printer Features, which will likely be different for each driver. In this case, another drop-down will be listed below and we’ll select Layout. There, we can change Print Type from 2-Sided to 1-Sided.

The next setting for this Konica Minolta is found under Security. I checked the box for Account Track and entered the department’s PIN code. Now to save these two settings that I have configured, I went to the Presets drop-down and chose Save As… (You can’t save over the Standard settings.).

After clicking Save As, a Save Preset As dialog will popup asking you to give the preset a name and whether it should be available on all printers or only this printer.

Now that you have a preset configured with the settings you want, you can choose it from near the top of the print dialog box. Unfortunately, you will have to choose it every time over the Standard settings. If you want a setting to be the new default hold down the Option key when you hit print to set this new preset as the default preset for future print jobs.

In my instance, the preset didn’t quite do the trick for me. Selecting the preset remembered that I only wanted to print one sided and it remembered the PIN code but it didn’t remember the checkbox to use the PIN code.

To fix that problem, I had to access the Mac’s CUPS web interface. To do that, I used Safari and went to http://localhost:631 On the page that comes up, I clicked on the Printers tab and selected the link to my printer. On the right drop-down, I chose the Set Default Options from the menu.

That took me to an Administration tab. Clicking on the Security link, it gave me roughly the same options I saw through the print dialog interface. I switch the Account Track radio button to On and hit the ‘Set Default Options’ button. This prompted for the Mac’s administrator account and password. Upon entering the credentials, the defaults were updated.

Now, when the user goes to print, the dialog defaults to the 1-sided preset that I created and the Account Track checkbox is checked by default. Everything is now working how they want it.

If it was only a matter of wanting to print 1-Sided instead of 2-Sided, I could skip the Presets step altogether and jump into CUPS. From there, I can configure the printer under the Layout tab and set the default to be single sided printing as the default option and this would affect the Standard preset that was previously available in the account.

© Provided by Business Insider The process for printing doubled-sided depends on your printer model and what computer program you're printing from. Cris Cantón/Getty Images
  • You can print double-sided on your Windows PC as a default setting or on a per-job basis.
  • To print double-sided on your Windows computer for a single print job, you'll need to access the 'Print' menu in the appropriate program and use the advanced settings link, such as 'More settings.'
  • If you always want your Windows PC to print double-sided, make it your default setting in the 'Devices' menu via the Windows Control Panel or Settings app.
  • If your printer doesn't have double-sided printing capabilities, the option to duplex print will likely not show up as an adjustable setting.
  • Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

Printing double-sided is a no-brainer move. You lower your printer's energy use and save on paper, which ultimately saves trees. Plus, if you're printing a large project, you only have to carry around half the weight.

Two Sided Printing Mac Greyed Out Epson Et 2650

Despite there being plenty of advantages to printing projects double-sided, it is not the default setting on your PC. Luckily, Windows gives users the option to set duplex printing in two different ways. You can either select double-sided printing for each job in the print window settings or set duplex printing as your device's default preference through the Settings app on your Windows PC.

Two

Not all printers have duplex printing capabilities, so you'll need to check your printer manual or contact your printer manufacturer to make sure you can print double-sided. If your printer doesn't double-sided printing capabilities, you won't see the option to adjust it.

If you already know your printing device has double-sided printing available, here's how to do it on a Windows PC.

How to print double-sided for a single print job on a Windows PC

1. Open the document you want to print and select 'File.'

Why Is Two Sided Printing Grayed Out Mac

2. Choose 'Print.'

3. In the print menu, click the hyperlink that says, 'More settings.'

© Melanie Weir/Business Insider The 'More Settings' menu lets you set the paper size, tray, collation, and more. Melanie Weir/Business Insider

4. In the window that appears, click the dropdown menu labeled 'Duplex Printing.'

© Melanie Weir/Business Insider Duplex printing means your printer will automatically print on both sides without you doing any work. Melanie Weir/Business Insider
  • Note: Depending on which Windows operating system, printer and program you are working with, you may be given the option to 'Print on both sides' or 'Manually print on both sides.'
© Melanie Weir/Business Insider If your printer doesn't have automatic double-sided printing capabilities, you may be able to do it manually. Melanie Weir/Business Insider

5. If available, choose one of the 'print double-sided' options. 'Flip on long edge' means that the pages will flip like a book — 'flip on short edge' means they will flip like a notepad.

© Melanie Weir/Business Insider You'll need to decide which side you want the pages to flip on. Melanie Weir/Business Insider

6. Select 'OK.'


Gallery: The best smartwatches for women (Business Insider)

7. Click 'Print.'

How to set double-sided printing as your default on a Windows PC

1. Click the 'Start' button.

System Preferences Greyed Out Mac

2. Scroll until you see the 'Settings' app, then select it.

© Abbey White/Business Insider Apps on Windows 10 computers are sorted alphabetically. Abbey White/Business Insider

3. Choose 'Devices.'

© Abbey White/Business Insider The 'Devices' menu should be one of the first options listed. Abbey White/Business Insider

4. Click 'Printers & Scanners.'

© Abbey White/Business Insider The 'Printers & Scanners' menu allows you to control the devices connected to your computer. Abbey White/Business Insider

5. Select the printing device you plan to use.

© Abbey White/Business Insider You'll need to decide which side you want the pages to flip on. Melanie Weir/Business Insider

6.Click the 'Manage' or 'Manage Your Device' option from the dropdown menu that appears.

© Abbey White/Business Insider 6. Click the 'Manage' or 'Manage Your Device' option from the dropdown menu that appears. Abbey White/Business Insider

7. Select the 'Printing Preferences' link from the left-hand column.

© Abbey White/Business Insider This menu will let you set double-sided printing as the default if your printer has the capability. Abbey White/Business Insider

Two Sided Printing Mac Greyed Out 2019

8. A dialogue window should appear. Select the 'Printing Shortcut' tab.

9. If your printer has a duplexing unit and can automatically print on both sides, select 'Two-sided Duplex Printing' from the 'Printing Shortcuts' box.

10. If you have to manually feed paper into your printer to print on both sides, select 'User Specified Print Settings.'

11. Select the 'Print on both sides manually' dropdown and choose between 'Flip on Long Edge' or 'Flip on Short Edge.'

12. Click 'Apply.'

13. Choose 'Save.'

Why Is Two-sided Printing Greyed Out

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

Read the original article on Business Insider