What Is Duplex Printing?
Last Updated on May 10, 2019 by Christian Ralph
Printers typically have a range of different settings and modes, allowing for users to change the way that their print-outs look or to conserve resources like paper. Duplex printing is one of these modes, and it’s a setting that’s commonly found and used in office printers.
What does duplex printing mean?
In a nut shell, duplex printing is printing on both sides of the paper. The natural progression from single-sided printing or ‘simplex’ printing, duplex printing allows for higher productivity at lower costs.
How does duplex printing work?
The most commonly implemented method of duplex printing is via a single-engine duplexer. The duplexer works to automatically flip the sheet of paper after the first side has printed then feeds the sheet back through to print on the opposite side.
When was duplex printing invented?
The first printer capable of duplex printing as we know it today can be traced back to 1987. Pioneered by a team of Japanese engineers, the patent for this new technology was swiftly pounced upon by the Ricoh corporation which sought to revolutionise printing efficiency.
Duplex printing has now spread across the printer industry with the majority of modern-day laser printers incorporating the technology.
What are the benefits of duplex printing?
The main benefit of duplex printing is the instant 50% saving in media costs. By using both sides of the page, paper wastage is halved whilst providing the same amount of content in a document half the size.
Energy costs are also decreased as the printer has to do less work by processing one sheet instead of two for the same amount of content. Duplex printing is one of the easiest ways your office can cut down on unnecessary waste and help achieve environmental goals.
Duplex printing also brings it time saving benefits as the ability to automatically print double-sided reduces down time and the need for human intervention.
How do I duplex print?
Enabling duplex printing is not as hard as it sounds, with the majority of printers following the same basic steps;
- – Click file, then print.
- – From the drop-down menu, select the printer you want to use.
- – Enable the option for duplex printing, this may be referred to as “print on both sides” depending on the manufacturer of your printer.
- – Click print and you’re done!
Which is the best duplex printer?
The modern-day consumer is spoilt for choice when it comes to purchasing a duplex capable printer. With top manufacturers having perfected the duplexing process, the Samsung CLX-6260FW is a great example of a printer which incorporates duplex printing. Supporting automatic duplex scanning as well as printing, the CLX-6260FW is the perfect example of how duplex technology can benefit users.
