Canon MF461dw / MF463dw / MF465dw: Blank Pages Appear During Duplex Scanning, Pages Are Missing, or the Back Side Is Upside Down

Last Updated on 14.04.2026 by DriverNew

Applies to models: Canon MF461dw, MF463dw, MF465dw.

If extra blank pages appear in the final file during duplex scanning through the feeder, some pages are missing, or the back side of the document is upside down, this does not necessarily mean the multifunction printer is faulty. In most cases, the cause is in the duplex scanning settings and the blank-page skipping setting.

How the problem usually appears

• blank pages appear between pages even though they should not be there;
• some pages are missing from the final PDF;
• the back side of the document is rotated incorrectly;
• when scanning a mixed stack of documents, the result is not what you expected.

Why this happens

Canon provides separate settings for duplex scanning. If scanning both sides is enabled but some of your sheets are one-sided, blank pages may appear in the file. If [Skip Blank Originals] is enabled, the software or the multifunction printer may instead automatically remove pages it considers blank. And if the wrong type of 2-sided original is selected, the back side may end up upside down.

In simple terms: the same stack of documents may require different settings depending on whether all sheets are 2-sided, whether they all have the same orientation, and whether blank pages should be removed automatically.

Where to start

1. Check what kind of documents you are scanning: are they all 2-sided, or are some sheets 1-sided?
2. Make sure the whole stack is placed straight in the feeder.
3. Check whether you are starting the scan from the computer through MF Scan Utility or from the multifunction printer control panel.

This matters because some settings are changed in MF Scan Utility, while others are changed on the machine control panel.

Step 1. If the document is 1-sided, disable duplex scanning

This is the simplest and most common cause of extra blank pages.

1. Open MF Scan Utility.
2. Click [Settings].
3. Open the scan profile you normally use.
4. Find [Scan both sides when scanning from the feeder].
5. If you are scanning normal 1-sided sheets, disable this setting.
6. Scan again.

If the blank pages disappear after that, the problem was not with the paper or the feeder, but simply that the program was expecting a 2-sided original.

Step 2. If the document is 2-sided, enable scanning of both sides

If the document is actually printed on both sides, duplex scanning must be enabled. Otherwise, the back side simply will not be included in the file.

1. Open MF Scan Utility.
2. Click [Settings].
3. Find [Scan both sides when scanning from the feeder].
4. Enable this setting.
5. Scan again.

Step 3. If the back side is upside down, check the 2-sided original type

Canon provides two options for this: [Book Type] and [Calendar Type].

• [Book Type] — the top and bottom of the front and back sides have the same orientation.
• [Calendar Type] — the top and bottom of the front and back sides have the opposite orientation.

If the wrong option is selected, the file may be created, but some pages will be rotated incorrectly.

How to check this on the multifunction printer control panel

1. Open the scan screen.
2. Find [2-Sided Original].
3. Check which option is selected:
   • [Book Type];
   • [Calendar Type].
4. If the back sides are upside down in the file, switch the type and scan again.

Step 4. If some pages are missing, check [Skip Blank Originals]

This setting is useful when you want to remove truly blank pages. But sometimes it treats very light, faint, or almost empty sheets as blank and leaves them out of the final file.

1. If you are scanning from the multifunction printer control panel, open the scan settings.
2. Find [Skip Blank Originals].
3. If it is enabled, temporarily disable it.
4. Scan again.

If the missing pages appear in the file after that, the cause was the automatic blank-page skipping feature.

Step 5. Keep in mind that with [Skip Blank Originals] enabled, scanning may behave differently from what you expect

If the stack contains sheets with very faint printing, 1-sided sheets mixed in with 2-sided ones, or pages with very little text, the multifunction printer may classify them as blank. That is why this mode is best enabled only when you are sure that blank pages really should be removed automatically.

If you have a mixed stack of documents, it is safer to scan first without automatic blank-page skipping.

Step 6. If you have a mixed stack, do not expect one mode to give a perfect result

This is a very important point. For example, if one stack contains:

• 2-sided sheets;
• 1-sided sheets;
• sheets with very faint printing on the back;
• pages with different orientations,

one universal setting may not give an ideal result.

In that situation, it is better to:

1. either scan similar documents separately;
2. or first disable [Skip Blank Originals] and check the result;
3. or manually remove extra blank pages from the final PDF after scanning.

Step 7. Check [Document Scan Orientation Settings] in MF Scan Utility

If a page looks rotated incorrectly after scanning, you need to check not only the duplex setting, but also the document orientation.

1. Open MF Scan Utility.
2. Click [Settings].
3. Find [Document Scan Orientation Settings].
4. Make sure the direction matches the way the original is placed in the feeder.
5. After changing it, scan again.

Sometimes users look only at the duplex setting, even though part of the problem is actually caused by the document orientation.

Step 8. Review the result before final saving

If you often work with mixed documents, it is useful to enable a preview of the result before saving.

1. Open MF Scan Utility.
2. Click [Settings].
3. Find [Check scan results].
4. Enable it if it is available in your scan profile.
5. After scanning, review the result before saving it finally.

This is useful when you want to catch an extra blank page or an upside-down back side before the file is already sent or fully saved.

When the problem is probably no longer just a settings issue

In most cases the cause is in the settings, but there are situations where you should look more broadly:

• not just отдельные pages, but almost the whole document turns out blank;
• the problem repeats in both 1-sided and 2-sided scanning;
• the same pages are always missing regardless of the selected mode;
• the problem repeats both when scanning from the computer and when scanning from the multifunction printer control panel.

In that case, you should check the drivers, the scanner condition, and the job settings more broadly.

When to contact support

• you already checked [Scan both sides when scanning from the feeder];
• you checked [2-Sided Original] and switched between [Book Type] and [Calendar Type];
• you disabled [Skip Blank Originals];
• you checked [Document Scan Orientation Settings];
• the problem still repeats.

Even if the multifunction printer is new, that still does not necessarily mean it is faulty. But after these checks, it is reasonable to contact Canon support.

Brief conclusion

For the Canon MF461dw, MF463dw, and MF465dw, extra blank pages, missing sheets, and an upside-down back side during duplex scanning are usually caused by settings, not by a hardware fault. First, check whether [Scan both sides when scanning from the feeder] is enabled appropriately, whether the correct [2-Sided Original] type is selected — [Book Type] or [Calendar Type] — and whether [Skip Blank Originals] is enabled unnecessarily. If the documents are mixed, it is safer to scan without automatic blank-page skipping and review the result before saving.