Make copies with an HP printer
Copy documents or photos, and change copy settings such as number of copies, copy size, and paper size.
Change copy settings
Select the best settings for your copy job. Available copy settings depend on your printer.
Change copy settings on printers with a control panel menu
Open the copy settings menu from the printer control panel.
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On the printer control panel, touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo.
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Change any basic settings, such as number of copies.
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Touch Settings or the Gear icon
to open the copy job options.
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Scroll to access and change any copy settings.
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2-Sided Copying: Depending on your printer model, this setting is usually under the Document copy setting.
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ID Copy: Print both sides of an identification card or driver's license on a one-sided copy. The printer prompts you to flip the ID card to complete the copy job.
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Size or Resize: Options can include a list of presets, custom sizes between 25 and 400 percent of the original, fit to page, and actual size to make a borderless copy.
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Paper Size: Select the paper size for your copy job printouts, or select Automatic to automatically detect the paper loaded in the tray.
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Paper Type: Select the type of paper you are making copies on. Incorrect paper type selections can result in slower copy speeds.
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Tray Selection: Select the paper input tray with the paper you are using for your copies.
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Quality: Select an available copy quality level. Copy time might increase with better quality settings.
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Lighter/Darker: If the original is faded or too saturated, make the copy lighter or darker.
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Optimize or Enhancements: Select the type of item you are copying to apply automated quality improvements, such as sharpening text and image edges or enhancing faded photo colors.
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HP Copy Fix: Let the printer automatically improve copy quality and adjust skewing.
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Collate: Turn the feature on or off for multi-page copies.
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Binding Margin or Margin Shift: Touch On to copy pages with a margin shifted to the left side of the page.
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Restore Factory Defaults: Restores all copy settings to their original defaults.
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Select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.
Change copy settings on printers with control panel buttons only
Printers with button-only control panels support basic copy functionality with default settings.
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Inkjet printers: Press the Start Copy Color or Start Copy Black button to start a copy job. If you need more than one copy, press the button quickly for as many copies as you need. The copy job starts after the last button press.
Examples of Start Copy Color buttons
Examples of Start Copy Black buttons
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LaserJet printers: Press the Number of Copies button
, Setup button
, or Copy Setup/Menu button
, select the number of copies you want, and then press the Start Copy button
to start the copy job.
Change copy settings from HP Smart or the printer homepage (network printers)
Open the advanced settings in the HP Smart app or connect to the printer homepage to change default copy settings. Available settings depend on your printer model.
The printer must be connected to a local network to access the EWS.
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If you are prompted to log in or enter the printer PIN, enter admin for the username (HP LaserJets only), enter the PIN from the printer label, and then click Submit or OK. This label is typically located inside the cartridge access area or printer door.
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Change default copy settings from the Settings or Copy Settings tab or menu.
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Reduce/Enlarge or Resize: Change the size of the copy. Options can include a list of presets, custom sizes between 25 and 400 percent of the original size, Fit to Page, and an Actual Size setting to make a borderless copy.
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Lighter/Darker: Make the copy lighter or darker if the original is faded or too saturated.
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Two-Sided Copying: Copy on both sides of the paper. Select an available option from the drop-down menu.
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Quality: Select an available copy quality level. Copy time might increase with better quality settings.
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Media or Paper Size: Select the paper size you are making copies on, or select Automatic to let the printer detect the paper loaded in the tray.
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Media or Paper Type: Select the type of plain or photo paper you are making copies on. Incorrect paper type selections might result in slow copy speeds or poor copy quality.
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Default Tray: Select the paper input tray with the paper you are using for your copies.
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Default Enhancement: Select the type of item you are copying to improve quality, such as sharpening text and image edges or improving faded colors in photos.
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Collate: Turn the feature on or off for multi-page copies.
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Margin Off: Enable this feature to remove margins from copies.
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Load the original to copy
With the printer turned on, load the original onto the scanner glass or into the document feeder.
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Scanner glass: Lift the scanner lid, position the original print side down on the glass according to the guide on the printer, and then close the scanner lid.
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Automatic Document Feeder (ADF): Load a single or multi-page document according to the guide on the tray. For most models, load the document print side up and top edge first. Adjust the paper-width guides until they rest gently against the edges of the paper.
CAUTION:The ADF mechanism can damage photos. To copy photos, use an alternate method, such as the scanner glass or your mobile device camera with the HP Smart app.
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Document feeder: Load the original according to the guide on the printer. For most printers, load the item print side up, but for mobile printers, load the item print side down. To prevent jams and copy quality issues, do not copy thick or stiff items that cannot bend without creasing.
Change paper size and type settings
Reload the paper so that the printer detects the paper size, and then make sure copy size settings are correct.
Reload paper
Make sure the paper is loaded into the printer correctly.
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Remove the paper stack from the input tray.
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Reload the paper, making sure the paper-width guides rest gently against the edges of the stack.
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If a message displays on the printer control panel to confirm the paper type and size, touch OK if the size is correct, or touch Change or Modify to change it.
Change copy size settings
Adjust copy and paper size settings from the printer control panel menu to enlarge or reduce the size of copies.
Note:
Many printers without a control panel menu display use default copy settings that cannot be changed. To improve print speed or print quality, or change the size of your copies, scan the original, edit settings with HP scanning software, and then print multiple copies of the scanned document or photo.
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Touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo on the printer control panel, and then select any available basic settings that apply to your copy job.
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Touch Settings or the Gear icon
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Scroll to access and change the following copy settings.
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Resize or Size: Change the size of the copy. Options can include a list of presets, custom sizes between 25 and 50 percent of the original size, Fit to Page, and an Actual Size setting to make a borderless copy.
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Paper Size: Select the plain or photo paper size for your copies, or select Automatic to let the printer detect the paper loaded in the tray.
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Paper Type: Select the type of plain or photo paper for your copies.
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Tray Selection: Select the paper input tray with the paper being used for your copies.
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Select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.
Make two-sided copies (printers with control panel menus)
Make two-sided copies from the flatbed scanner glass or Automatic Document Feeder (ADF). The printer prompts you to flip the pages.
Note:
If your printer does not support two-sided copying, you can manually copy on both sides. Make a copy on the first side, and then load the copy into the paper tray. Make a test copy of the other side to confirm which edge of the copy to load first and which side faces up.
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Place the original on the scanner glass or into the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF).
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Scanner glass: Lift the scanner lid, position the original print side down on the glass according to the guide on the printer, and then close the scanner lid.
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Automatic Document Feeder (ADF): Load a single or multi-page document according to the guide on the tray. For most models, load the document print side up and top edge first. Adjust the paper-width guides until they rest gently against the edges of the paper.
CAUTION:The ADF mechanism can damage photos. To copy or scan photos, use an alternate method, such as the scanner glass or your mobile device camera with the HP Smart app.
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On the printer control panel, touch Copy or Copy Document.
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Touch Settings or the Gear icon
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Open the 2-Sided Copying menu, and then enable the feature.
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Touch On or select the box next to the setting name.
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Touch the menu to display a list of two-sided copying options.
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Start the copy job. Load the second side or flip the document if prompted.
Improve copy quality
Copies that are faded, blurred, or have the wrong colors compared to the original might be caused by incorrect copy settings, power issues, or ink or toner.
Note:
Make sure the original being copied is high enough quality. If the original copy has low resolution or poor quality, use HP scanning software to scan it into the computer, edit it to improve the image quality, and then print as many copies as you need.
Perform the following tasks in the order given. Use the printer after each task to see if the issue is resolved.
Change copy settings to improve print quality
Adjust color, contrast, and enhancement settings from the printer control panel to improve copy quality.
Note:
Many printers without a control panel menu display use default copy settings that cannot be changed. To improve print speed or print quality, or change the size of your copies, scan the original, edit settings with HP scanning software, and then print multiple copies of the scanned document or photo.
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On the printer control panel, touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo.
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Touch Settings or the Gear icon
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Scroll to access and change the following copy settings.
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Paper Type: Select the type of plain or photo paper for your copies.
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Quality: Select an available copy quality level.
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Lighter/Darker or Contrast: If the original is faded or too saturated, make the copy lighter or darker.
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Optimize or Enhancements: Select the type of item you are copying to apply automated quality improvements, such as sharpening text and image edges or improving faded photo colors.
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HP Copy Fix: Let the printer automatically improve copy quality and adjust skewing.
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Select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.
Reset the printer
Reset the printer to recover from printer errors or failures.
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If your printer has a rechargeable battery, remove it.
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Press the power button to turn off the printer. If the printer does not turn off, disconnect the power cord from the printer.
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Unplug the power cord from the power source.
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Wait 60 seconds.
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Connect the power cord directly to a wall outlet and to the printer.
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Turn on the printer to complete the reset.
Check scanner bar functionality
If you have a flatbed scanner, watch the scanner bar while scanning to see if it is working properly.
Troubleshoot print quality issues
Find steps to improve print quality by printer model on HP Customer Support.
Go to HP Customer Support, and then type your printer model in the search bar. Browse your printer support page for a Print Quality document.
Make copies from printers without a control panel menu
Printers with basic control panels (no touchscreens or text menu display) support basic copy functionality, such as number of copies or copying in color or black & white.
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Make sure paper is loaded into the input tray, and then turn on the printer.
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Place the original on the scanner glass or into the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF).
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Scanner glass: Lift the scanner lid, position the original print side down on the glass according to the guide on the printer, and then close the scanner lid.
-
Automatic Document Feeder (ADF): Load a single or multi-page document according to the guide on the tray. For most models, load the document print side up and top edge first. Adjust the paper-width guides until they rest gently against the edges of the paper.
CAUTION:The ADF mechanism can damage photos. To copy or scan photos, use an alternate method, such as the scanner glass or your mobile device camera with the HP Smart app.
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Set up and start the copy job.
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Inkjet printers: Press the Start Copy Color or Start Copy Black button to start a copy job. If you need more than one copy, press the button quickly for as many copies as you need. The copy job starts after the last button press.
Examples of Start Copy Color buttons
Examples of Start Copy Black buttons
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LaserJet printers: Press the Number of Copies button
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If copy quality is not acceptable using the basic copy settings available on your printer, use HP scanning software such as the HP Smart app to scan the original into the computer, and then use the editing tools to improve the quality of the original. You can then print copies of the scanned file.
Save default copy settings
Adjust copy settings and then save them as the defaults for future copy jobs. Save the settings from the printer control panel menu or in the printer Embedded Web Server (EWS) for network-connected printers.
Save copy settings on the printer control panel
Adjust and save default copy settings using the control panel menu display.
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On the printer control panel, touch Copy, Copy Document, or Copy Photo.
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Touch Settings or the Gear icon
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Scroll to the bottom of the list, and then select Save Current Settings or Set as New Defaults to retain the settings for future copy jobs.
Save copy settings with the EWS (network printers only)
Open the advanced settings in the HP Smart app or connect to the printer homepage to change default copy settings.
The printer must be connected to a local network to access the homepage.
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If you are prompted to log in or enter the printer PIN, enter admin for the username (HP LaserJets only), enter the PIN from the printer label, and then click Submit or OK. This label is typically located inside the cartridge access area or printer door.
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