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How to STOP default two sided printing

I have a macbook air (2013) and a Canon 8350 all in one laser printer...it ALWAYS defaults to two sided printing and I NEVER want to print two sided as I print for business and have no use for it...I often forget to uncheck it and thus end up wasting paper and ink.


I have looked through all the settings and cannot figure out how to get it to NOT default to two sided printing. I know I can save the settings, however it doesn't default to that new profile, so I would have to select the profile every time to change it, which makes no sense as a solution (I still have to remember to do it EVERY TIME).


Anyone know of a way to stop this behavior?

Posted on Aug 17, 2013 11:22 AM

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Posted on Aug 17, 2013 3:36 PM

You can change the default via CUPS, which is the core printing system of OS X.


Open Safari and enter the following URL


http://localhost:631


By default on 10.8, access to the CUPS page is blocked. To enable it, open Terminal and type "sudo cupsctl WebInterface=yes" (without the quotation marks). Enter the admin password when prompted and then refresh the Safari view.


With the CUPS web page open, select the Printers tab and then select the printer you want to modify. Then from the Administration drop menu, change to "Set Default Options".


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This will show a new page with four menu headings (links); Options Installed, General, Banners and Policies. Select General.


Scroll down the list until you see the Print Style menu. Change it from 2 Sided to 1 Sided and then scroll down the page until you see the Set Default Options button.


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Click on this button to save the change. You will then be prompted to authenitcate to CUPS.

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Enter the account name and password that has been set as the admin for this Mac. And then press the Log In button. You will then see another page stating that the information change is completed.


You can now check that the change has been successful by selecting to print this page from Safari. With the correct printer selected, change to the relevant menu to ensure your modification has worked.

52 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Aug 17, 2013 3:36 PM in response to mcdonsco12345

You can change the default via CUPS, which is the core printing system of OS X.


Open Safari and enter the following URL


http://localhost:631


By default on 10.8, access to the CUPS page is blocked. To enable it, open Terminal and type "sudo cupsctl WebInterface=yes" (without the quotation marks). Enter the admin password when prompted and then refresh the Safari view.


With the CUPS web page open, select the Printers tab and then select the printer you want to modify. Then from the Administration drop menu, change to "Set Default Options".


User uploaded file

This will show a new page with four menu headings (links); Options Installed, General, Banners and Policies. Select General.


Scroll down the list until you see the Print Style menu. Change it from 2 Sided to 1 Sided and then scroll down the page until you see the Set Default Options button.


User uploaded file

Click on this button to save the change. You will then be prompted to authenitcate to CUPS.

User uploaded file

Enter the account name and password that has been set as the admin for this Mac. And then press the Log In button. You will then see another page stating that the information change is completed.


You can now check that the change has been successful by selecting to print this page from Safari. With the correct printer selected, change to the relevant menu to ensure your modification has worked.

Jun 13, 2017 10:39 AM in response to mcdonsco12345

Turn off double sided printing in a document

1. On the File menu, click Print.

2. In Print, select Layout.

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3. Click Two-Sided to off.

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4. In Presets, select Save Current Setting as Preset.

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5. In Preset Name, enter a name and select All Printers.

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This printer setting will now be your default Presets. This preset is associated your printer so will be default/available in other applications.

Dec 25, 2013 3:05 AM in response to mcdonsco12345

I had the same problem. All of a sudden the duplex printing started and I couldn't figure out how to set the default wherein it was unchecked. Then I realized that if you select "Black and White" or "Black and White draft" printing, the duplex is preselected. Change back your preset to "Default". This was a rather silly point that took me some time to figure out.

Apr 20, 2017 10:39 AM in response to mcdonsco12345

I used the following:

This is the template of what I did.

http://oithelp.nd.edu/print/duplex-to-single/


I used Safari, but this will work for any application. At PRINT page, go through ALL the changes suggested in the link.


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Save the PRESETS to a new DEFAULT SETTINGS XX (something that differs from standard DEFAULT SETTINGS).


CLOSE the print window. And re-open it by printing something in ANY application. If your newly created DEFAULT SETTINGS XX does not appear by default, then click and select it under PRESETS and print a simple document and (one that will not use that much ink!).


The next time you print anything, your new PRESETS will be there and using those settings.

Aug 17, 2013 12:57 PM in response to mcdonsco12345

The print dialog has several drop-down menus, one of which initially shows the name of the application you're printing from. If the printer supports duplex, you can choose

Duplex Printing & Margin

from that menu. You should then see a checkbox marked

Automatic Duplex Printing

Uncheck that box. Then, from the Presets menu, select

Save Current Settings as Preset...

and replace the settings you're using.

Aug 17, 2013 2:53 PM in response to mcdonsco12345

By default, when you use the Print dialog, the selected preset is the last preset you used. However, you can choose to use the Default Settings preset every time you print, unless you change it.

  1. Choose Show Presets from the Presets pop-up menu.
  2. Select “Reset Presets Menu to ‘Default Settings’ After Printing.”

OS X Mountain Lion: Save a group of print options as a preset

How to STOP default two sided printing

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