How to Stop Two-Side Printing From Being the Default in macOS

  1. Enable the CUPS in the browser.

    CUPS is a network printing service used by Mac computers. It allows you to setup your printers on a network, and customise options such as tray setup.

    - Go to http://localhost:631/printers/.
    - A screen will appear saying 'Web Interface is Disabled'

    Enabling CUPS

    - Start enabling it by opening 'Terminal' program.
    - Select and copy this command 'cupsctl WebInterface=yes' in Terminal and hit enter.
    - After that, visit again this url http://localhost:631/printers/ and enter your MAC computer username and password.



    - You will see something like this after logging in.

  2. Open CUPS Settings in Your Browser



  3. Find and Change the Two-Side Printing Option

    - Click on 'Printers' tab to see the list of printers.



    - Select a printer for which you want to change the settings and you will be taken to the printer's configuration page.



    - Click the 'Administration' dropdown menu and select 'Set Default Options'.





    - You’re taken to a page that shows a series of dropdown menus controlling various default options. The one you’re looking for is named '2-Sided Printing'.



    - Click that dropdown and then select 'Off (1-Sided)' from the list of options.



    - Click the 'Set Default Options' button to save the changes.
    - Close the browser.

  4. Do a print test
    - Open a document from any program.
    - Print it and you will see that two-sided printing is no longer enabled by default.



    - Please note that you can still use two-sided printing when you actually want to.


Posted by: Josh Taylor on 2019-12-19 00:03