How do i enforce duplex printing on Server 2012

Question

Is it possible to enforce duplex printing by default for every users on AD. Unless the user deliberately choose to print single sided, all print jobs should be duplex (double-sided).

Is it possible to do this?

Thanks.

Solution

Your question largely depends on whether or not you're using a managed print server. If your users are connecting through a common server to these printers (and not directly via IP or some other method that bypasses the server), you can share out your printers within your network and have the users add the queues from there.

One easy way to do this is to create a shortcut on a shared network repository so when the user logs in, connects to the repository and selects the printer shortcut, the queue will be added from the server.

In this way, you'll be able to manage the driver default for all users connecting to this particular device; however this may not work if you're only attempting to apply this setting for certain users. You could in theory make separate queues with the different settings and have users connect that way, but depending on the scale of this implementation you may be faced with an uphill challenge.

That's the only way that I have been able to experience in which you can set it up that way.

Comments

[Jeremy]

Your solution is worth trying. I have Canon copier, and have set to force duplex on every print job. But, it doesn't work. So i am trying to enforce it via Group Policy.

[Dawn Benton]

Unfortunately, it seems (as far as I can tell) that the group policy printer stuff is limited to publish, locate, and deploy functions with printer and print job specific settings on the print services server. Good luck! Printers are sometimes a nightmare to get smooth.