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Encouraging or Enforcing Duplex (2-sided) Printing with PaperCut NG/MF

This page applies to:

PaperCut NG PaperCut MF PaperCut Pocket PaperCut Hive

Last updated March 24, 2026

How duplex (2-sided) printing is configured and experienced in PaperCut NG/MF depends on several factors: the print driver in use, how printers are deployed to users, and which PaperCut features are enabled. This article covers the main scenarios.

Encourage Duplex with Print Scripting

Here are two different ways to encourage users to print smarter and save paper without making it mandatory:

  • Use PaperCut’s Print Scripting feature: There are a number of example recipes PaperCut have to encourage duplex printing without making it mandatory. Head over to Printers > [select printer] >Scripting>Import scripting. We have a number of recipes to import including Print Policy Enforcement, Offer to convert jobs with a high number of pages to duplex, Go Green with environmental warnings and more!

    Keep in mind that this requires users to run the User Client on their desktop computer to respond to the prompt.

  • Allow users to switch to duplex when releasing a print job at the device (PaperCut MF): PaperCut MF allows users to change a print job from 1-sided to 2-sided at the MFD at the point of release. This is enabled via config keys in the Config Editor (Advanced): ext-device.change-print-job-settings.duplex.enabled = Y. See Configure change attributes for the specific steps.

Enforce Duplex with Filters & Restrictions

PaperCut NG/MF can automatically convert simplex (1-sided) jobs to duplex using the Filters & Restrictions tab on a printer. This is useful for enforcing duplex printing for specific user groups (e.g., students) without requiring any action from the user.

  1. Navigate to Printers > [select printer] > Filters & Restrictions.

Enable Convert simplex jobs to duplex for selected users or groups.

Is it possible for admins to change the default option (1-sided or 2-sided)?

Classic Windows Server-Hosted Printing

Yes. Even without PaperCut, Windows print server admins can control the Windows Printing Defaults and Printing Preferences , allowing them to set whether the default option a user sees is simplex or duplex.

Web Print

Users cannot choose duplex/simplex themselves within the Web Print interface; instead, Web Print uses the print queue’s default settings on the print server. To offer duplex as an option, the recommended approach is to set up separate print queues with different defaults, for example:

  • Library Printer (Single-Sided)
  • Library Printer (Double-Sided)

To ensure the defaults apply correctly, Web Print must run as a service account (not Local System). See Modify default Web Print settings for details and workarounds.

Mobility Print

Users printing through Mobility Print can normally choose duplex/simplex themselves. However, there is no built-in method for administrators to control the default option, as Mobility Print does not read the printer queue’s default duplex/simplex settings. See Mobility Print FAQs for details and workarounds.

When using Print Deploy to push print queues, duplex defaults are controlled by the driver settings on the reference machine. Ensure the correct duplex/simplex preference is configured in the print driver on the reference machine before cloning it for deployment.

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