| Do you like to print both sides of the page to save | | | | essentially changes the composition of the paper. |
| paper? | | | | Non-duplex machines can often get jammed with |
| Many home and small office printers do not have the | | | | paper that has already been printed on. Removing a |
| ability to print on both sides of the page. Whilst it saving | | | | paper jam is time consuming and distracting, and can |
| paper (and ultimately, trees) is an admirable quest, | | | | often damage the printer or toner or printer ink |
| printing on both sides of the page with a printer that | | | | cartridge, especially if the paper tears and a piece gets |
| does not have that feature (called duplex printing) can | | | | left behind. Damage to the sensitive drum or fiddly |
| be costly and waste more printer ink, cartridges and | | | | rollers also occurs when paper jams are not removed |
| toner than single sided printing (called simplex printing). | | | | carefully. |
| Visualise the process of a laser printer. Paper feeds in, | | | | Similarly, the problem exists with inkjet printers. Ink |
| toner is magnetized to the drum (according to the | | | | takes longer to dry than toner, and streaks of wet ink |
| message the computer sends it), toner is rolled onto | | | | on the printer rollers can cause streaks and lines on |
| the paper and the paper feeds through belts and | | | | the following pages, causing and unprofessional result |
| rollers to the fuser unit which melts the toner to the | | | | and wastage. |
| page. A printed piece of paper feeds through more | | | | If you are looking to buy a new laser or ink printer, and |
| rollers and belts out of the printer. | | | | you would like to print on both sides of the page, most |
| If you turn the paper over and print on the other side | | | | brands of printers use the letter D in their model |
| with a non-duplex-ready printer, when the paper gets | | | | number to indicate that the printer is a duplex-ready |
| to the fuser unit it heats the toner on BOTH SIDES of | | | | printer. A duplex printer has a roller and belt path that |
| the page. Melted toner can then be deposited onto the | | | | eliminates ghosting and streaking on the paper. |
| rollers throughout the printer. Printed pages that have | | | | You may wish to check if the printer is a manual or |
| ghosted images or words or streaks on following | | | | automatic duplex. Manual means you will need to turn |
| pages mean that the whole project can be a waste. If | | | | the pages over yourself and feed them back into the |
| the problem is bad enough you may need to then | | | | printer paper tray when instructed by the printer. An |
| replace the printer. | | | | automatic duplex printer has a mechanism inside that |
| The process of heating a piece of paper can cause | | | | turns and feeds the paper back into the printer without |
| also the paper to curl slightly on the edges. Printing | | | | human intervention. |
