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General discussion

two sided printing

Apr 10, 2011 10:46AM PDT

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac7,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: IM71.007A.B03
SMC Version (system): 1.20f4
I have a HP photosmart premium all-in-one C309a printer. I have just purchased MS Office 2011. I followed HP instructions to verify that the printer has a Duplexer.

I want to print two sided but when I start to print with Word nothing shows up in the Print windows where I should be able to click on a box for two sided printing. Is this missing in Office 14.0.2 ? Am I doing something wrong?

Discussion is locked

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Just as a matter of interest,
Apr 10, 2011 9:50PM PDT

what happens when you print from another application, like Text Edit?

Do you see the correct print dialog box then?


P

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re: text edit
Apr 11, 2011 9:07AM PDT

There was nothing about two-sided that I could find and Text Edit lost formatting.

I took the long way around. I copied one side of the original, then turned the copy over and copied the second page of the original to the back.

I then put that two sided page in the top document feeder, set the controls on, "2-sided", followed directions on the printer and printed my two sided copies just fine.

Thanks for trying. I'll keep doing it this way.
NO need to answer this, and thank you.

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Don't give up,
Apr 11, 2011 10:31AM PDT

if this printer has a duplexer, then you should be able to print two sided sheets from any application.

That was why I asked what the dialog box looked like when you printed from Text Edit. I was not suggesting that you open your Word documents with Text Edit.

You might also check that you are actually using the HP driver and not one of the GIMP drivers.

HP say that all the necessary drivers are included in OS X 10.6
If you are not running that version of OS X, you may want to look at the HP website for the correct drivers for your OS X version.
They also have instructions on how to install the printer

P

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It was tedious but I solved it?
Apr 13, 2011 2:27PM PDT

In, "Print" window I went to, "Copies & Pages", clicked on, "Layout". Where it says,"Two-sided", it indicates it is, "OFF". I clicked on the triangles to the right, and then on "Long-Edge Binding". I then hit print and voila !!!

I really don't want to criticize the developers of my c309a because I really use it and it now does everything I need and then some, but why do things like this have to be so obtuse? I have no idea what LONG EDGE BINDING has to do with printing on two sides of a page. A simple, "ON" would have had me printing three days ago.

I would like to give a big THANKS to the member services person who said to keep trying. If it hadn't been for that, my frustration would have made me give up.

Keep up the GREAT work!

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One of the reasons that it seems obtuse
Apr 13, 2011 9:57PM PDT

is that when you print on both sides the printer needs to know how you are going to read the resulting document.

The option Long Edge Binding means that the 8.5 x 11.0 paper will be printed in Portrait mode, and read like a book with the staples (imaginary or not) along the long (11.0") edge.
The other option would print the page in Landscape mode, and the staples (imaginary or not) would be placed along the Short (8.5") edge.

A simple ON would have still required an answer to the "which way is up" question, but I agree that it would have been more intuitive to ask that question after the switch was on. A descriptive icon would have helped too.

As you have found, duplex printing is off by default and will usually have to be turned on, if needed, for each print job.

Happy Printing

P

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Two-sided menu not available
Oct 20, 2011 2:12AM PDT

What if the 2-sided option menu is grayed out? I can't get it to work in Lion apparently. It always worked before with my hp OfficeJet.

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(NT) Make sure you have the LION drive installed,
Oct 20, 2011 5:57AM PDT
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Figured it out hte hard way

Jimintenn, I myself just figured out (by chance!) that long/short-edged binding is 2-sided. The morons at Microsoft could indeed have made it easier for an average joe like me.

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Those "morons at Microsoft" had absolutely nothing
Sep 29, 2011 10:00AM PDT

to do with the writing of the HP printer drivers.

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What happens,
Sep 30, 2011 8:43AM PDT

is that you did not change print defaults in Word. The default "Print" comes as in Windows: you hit the button and it prints without the dialog box where you can check two-sided printing. It should be easy to change. In Word (Excel, Powerpoint) go to View>Toolbars>customize toolbars and menus. Once there, click on Commands>File. In the right column, find printer icon accompanied with "Print...". Drag it to your Word menu and drag to the desktop (it will disappear) the old icon that was there. Close the customization window. Now, when you hit "pint", a standard dialog box will appear with your option.

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Sorry, did not see all the discussion ))
Sep 30, 2011 8:50AM PDT

looks like you got the dialog window and solved the problem. I guess, by default this box (under layout) is unchecked, and you will need to check it every time you print after launching Word.

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The "fix"
Nov 1, 2011 2:58AM PDT

As it turned out, in Lion you have to set up 2-sided printing in System Preferences under the Print/Fax tab. Therefore, the menu item that you choose each time you want to print 2-sided is not grayed out and you can proceed as usual. It is mystery to me why Apple did this, but there it is.