# How can you tell if a printer can do double-sided printing?



## Herringtrader (Aug 18, 2006)

Hello,

I just bought an EPSON STYLUS CX4200 all in one printer. It was really shocking to find out that this model is not able to do double-sided printing. I just wasted $95! I read a lot of information on shopping websites about different printers but I haven't read any information on any models referring to double-sided printing capability. I thought all printers can do that! 

How can anyone find out if a printer can do double-sided printing without buying it?

Can anyone please recommend me a cheap inkjet printer (not all in one) which can do double-sided printing?


Thanks,

Herringtrader


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## rbldsm (May 3, 2006)

I may be wrong but couldn't you just flip the paper?


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## Alex4 (Nov 7, 2004)

Most home use printers do not do double sided printing. You would have to find a business or commercial printer to do that. Rbldsm is right, you will have to print one side, and flip it.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

$99% or more of printers being sold today have no duplex capabilities and you need not expect that feature until you have spent far, far more than $95.

Double-sided printing is known as duplex printing. Sometimes, there are clues in the printer's model number. For instance, in HP printers a trailing "N" in the model number may mean it is Network capable. A trailing D may designate Duplex.

Sorry, for $95 you will not get a duplex printer. The duplex unit that is an add-on for my HP5 was once a $500 add-on. Most laser printers with native duplex capabilities are today in the $800 and up range. I don't know about ink jets.

Don't be fooled by printers designated under duplex as "yes, with software support". That simply means the printer's software is designed to pause after each page allowing you to turn over the paper and feed it back through. (What a crock!)


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## cmw2010 (Dec 3, 2006)

HP printers with a model number ending with dt are standard with duplex printing: http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-18972-236251-14438-3328073-468004.html


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## DaveBurnett (Nov 11, 2002)

If you have a multipage word document that you want to print double sided, it has a wizard that allows you to print all the odd pages, thhen tells you to re-feed the paper the othe side up. It then prints all the even pages.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

I tried that method and it seemed like every other time I did, it would feed two pages together at some point and ruin the whole job. Manual, single-page-at-a-time feeding is what I finally had to do.

I now have duplex units on my two HP5's and my HP 4000T (laserjets) and it's a dream. Saves a lot of paper and cuts the physical size of printed manuals and any other job in half.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

Another thing to think about:

It usually costs three- to four times as much to print black only on an ink jet as it does with a laser. Average toner cost per page with my HP5 with a new HP-branded toner cartridge (not an off-brand refill) is 0.9 cents per page. It is about four cents per page with my Epson 960 ink jet.

Similar cost differences apply to all laser vs ink jet, regardless of brand and model.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Think about what it takes to do double-sided printing. You have to flip the paper over internally to expose the other side for printing. This is not a trivial mechanical undertaking.  You'll find very few inexpensive printers (if any) that do double-sided printing.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

John,

cmw2010 has posted a link to an inkjet for $170 that does native duplex. Frankly, I am surprised at the price.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The HP ph5712 double-sided add-on supplied with this printer is hardly like a real double-sided printer.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

The HP Deskjet 6940dt is the one in cmw2010's link, not the ph5712. I don't know the difference; but, the 6940dt has "automatic duplex" in its specs.


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## Herringtrader (Aug 18, 2006)

Thanks for the help everyone! I spent the whole day on research on the internet and finally purchased a Canon PIXMA iP4300 Photo Printer for 79.99 USD (free shipping) at BUY.COM. This was the cheapest printer I found with duplexing capability. And all the reviews that I found were very positive. The term duplex printing was the key information for me as I did not know this term. The generic cartridges are very cheep for this model, to replace all 5 cartridges cost only 8 USD.

So now I will use my EPSON for scanning and copying and the CANON for printing.

Thanks again,


Herringtrader


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

It's surprising to see anything that will do duplex for that price. I hope it works out well for you.


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## cmw2010 (Dec 3, 2006)

Wow, I never would have thought you could get one for munder a hundred dollars. Plus with the five seperate color cartridges you know you will use all of your ink.


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