OKI MC332, MC362 and MC562: duplex printing does not work in Windows 11 and Windows 10

Last Updated on 11.08.2026 by DriverNew

If an OKI printer prints only on one side of the sheet, this does not always mean that the duplex unit is faulty. The two-sided printing option may disappear because of a universal Windows driver, incorrect detection of the printer’s capabilities, an open rear output tray or unsupported paper. In addition, the application from which the document is printed may override the driver settings.

Start with two simple checks: print on plain A4 paper from Tray 1 and try making a two-sided copy from the MFP control panel. The result will show whether you need to correct Windows settings or check the paper path mechanism.

Which models this guide applies to

The main procedure applies to the following color MFPs with automatic duplex printing:

• OKI MC332dn;
• OKI MC342dn and MC342dw;
• OKI MC352dn;
• OKI MC362dn and MC362w;
• OKI MC562dn, MC562w and MC562dw;
• OKI ES3452 MFP;
• OKI ES5462 MFP and ES5462dw MFP;
• OKI MPS2731mc.

The same causes and troubleshooting methods apply to the related OKI MC351, MC361, MC561, ES3451 MFP and ES5461 MFP. The driver setup instructions can also be used for C301dn, C310dn, C321dn, C330dn, C331dn, C510dn, C511dn, C530dn and C531dn printers. The names of individual tabs depend on whether the PCL or PS driver is installed.

First prepare a simple test

For the first test, exclude paper sizes and media for which automatic duplexing is intentionally disabled.

1. Remove current jobs from the print queue.
2. Load at least 10 flat sheets of plain A4 paper weighing 75–90 g/m² into Tray 1.
3. Make sure the tray guides touch the paper without bending it.
4. Set the tray to A4 and the media type to Plain.
5. Close the rear output tray completely. During automatic duplex printing, finished sheets must exit into the top face-down output tray.
6. Open a document containing at least two pages. A one-page job cannot be used to test duplex printing.
7. For the first attempt, print one copy without booklet mode, multiple pages per sheet or other additional modes.

Paper limitations

If A6, an envelope, labels, very heavy paper or another special medium is selected, the driver may hide or disable the two-sided printing option. First perform the test on plain A4 paper, and then configure the settings for the required media.

Step 1. Test duplexing without a computer

This test is available on MFPs. For a printer without a scanner, proceed to checking the driver.

1. Load two single-sided originals face up in the ADF.
2. Press the COPY button.
3. Press the right arrow to open the copy settings.
4. Use the down arrow to select Duplex Copy and press OK.
5. Select Simplex → Duplex LE to flip on the long edge or Simplex → Duplex SE to flip on the short edge.
6. Press OK, then press the Back button.
7. Start color or monochrome copying.

How to evaluate the result

• Both pages are printed on opposite sides of one sheet. The duplex mechanism works. Proceed to checking the Windows driver.
• Two single-sided sheets are produced. Repeat the test and make sure Simplex → Duplex is selected rather than OFF (Simplex).
• The sheet jams after the first side is printed. Check the paper, close the rear output tray and repeat the test with new A4 sheets.
• Error 181 appears. Turn off the device using its normal power button, wait until shutdown is complete, disconnect the power for about one minute and turn it on again. If the code returns, do not disassemble the duplex mechanism yourself.

Step 2. Find out which driver Windows is using

The most common software cause is that Windows created a queue using a universal IPP driver. Printing may work, but the OKI tabs and some device settings may be missing.

Windows 11

1. Open Start → Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Select the OKI printer you are using.
3. Open Printer properties. If this item is unavailable, select More devices and printer settings, right-click the OKI printer and open Printer properties.
4. Go to the Advanced tab.
5. Check the name in the Driver field.

Windows 10

1. Open Start → Settings → Devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Select the OKI printer and click Manage.
3. Open Printer properties.
4. Go to the Advanced tab.
5. Check the name in the Driver field.

Step 3. Correct the driver installation in Windows 11

If a full OKI PCL or PS driver is installed, proceed to the next step. If Microsoft IPP Class Driver or another universal queue is being used, reinstall the printer.

Check Windows protected print mode

1. Open Start → Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Scroll down to the printer settings section.
3. Find Windows protected print mode.
4. If a Turn Off button is displayed, the mode is enabled. Click this button and confirm the action.
5. If a Set up button is displayed, the mode is already disabled — do not enable it.
6. If this section is not present, skip this check and proceed to reinstalling the queue.

When Windows protected print mode is enabled, Windows removes third-party drivers and uses the modern print system. After the mode is disabled, the old driver and previous queue are not restored automatically: the printer must be removed and installed again. On a work computer, this setting may be managed by the organization’s administrator.

Reinstall the queue using the OKI driver

1. First write down the connection method: USB or network. For a network printer, also write down its IP address.
2. Open the Printers & scanners page, select the universal queue and click Remove.
3. For a USB connection, disconnect the USB cable from the computer.
4. Run the OKI driver installation package that matches your Windows bitness and architecture.
5. On a standard computer with an Intel or AMD processor, select the PCL or PS driver for your model. PCL is usually more convenient for general office printing.
6. For USB installation, connect the cable only when the installer prompts you to do so.
7. For network installation, select a TCP/IP connection and enter the IP address you wrote down. If the installer offers several detected queues, prefer the queue using the OKI driver and a fixed IP address rather than an automatically created WSD or IPP queue.
8. Complete the installation and check the driver name again on the Advanced tab.

Starting with Windows 11 24H2, the system may create a Windows Ready Print queue by default when the printer is connected over USB. If a universal driver appears again after manual addition, remove that queue and install the printer using the OKI package rather than only the Add device button.

Step 4. Correct the driver installation in Windows 10

Windows 10 does not have Windows protected print mode, so start by removing the incorrectly created universal queue.

1. Open Start → Settings → Devices → Printers & scanners.
2. Select the queue using Microsoft IPP Class Driver, Class Driver or a WSD connection and click Remove device.
3. If USB is used, disconnect the cable from the computer.
4. Run the OKI installation package for your model and Windows x64 or x86.
5. Select the PCL or PS driver.
6. For a USB connection, connect the cable only after the installer prompts you.
7. For a network connection, use TCP/IP and the MFP IP address. This reduces the likelihood that a WSD queue with incomplete settings will be created again.
8. After installation, open Printer properties → Advanced and make sure the driver field shows the OKI model.

Step 5. Tell the driver that the duplex unit is available

Even with the correct driver, the two-sided printing option may be missing if the driver did not obtain the device information. Automatic duplexing is a standard feature on the models covered here, so it should be shown as installed.

OKI PCL driver

1. Open Printer properties for the required queue.
2. Go to the Device Options tab.
3. For a network connection, click Get Printer Settings.
4. Wait for the information to update.
5. Make sure Duplex Unit is shown as installed.
6. For a USB connection, if automatic retrieval is unavailable, select Duplex Unit manually.
7. Click Apply, then OK.

OKI PS driver

1. Open Printer properties.
2. Go to the Device Settings tab.
3. Under Installable Options, select Get installed options automatically.
4. Click Setup and wait for the configuration to be retrieved.
5. Check that Duplex Unit is set to Installed.
6. If the printer is connected over USB and automatic retrieval is unavailable, set it to Installed manually.
7. Click Apply, then OK.

If Get Printer Settings does not retrieve the settings

• Check that the computer is printing to the correct device IP address.
• Make sure the MFP is turned on and in the ready state.
• Repeat the action from an administrator account.
• If printing is performed through a shared printer on a server, the installed duplex information must be corrected in the queue properties on the server. A system administrator may be required.
• If communication works but the settings cannot be retrieved, select Duplex Unit manually and perform a test on A4 paper.

Step 6. Enable two-sided printing in the driver

First set the option as the default for the queue, and then select it again in the print window of the application you are using.

OKI PCL driver

1. Open Printing Preferences for the required queue.
2. Open the Setup tab.
3. Find the 2-Sided Printing list.
4. Select Long Edge to flip on the long edge or Short Edge to flip on the short edge.
5. Click Apply, then OK.

OKI PS driver

1. Open Printing Preferences.
2. Go to the Layout tab.
3. In the Print on Both Sides list, select Flip on Long Edge or Flip on Short Edge.
4. Click Apply, then OK.

How to choose the binding edge

• Long Edge / Flip on Long Edge. The sheet is flipped around its long physical edge. This is the normal option for a document that is turned like a book.
• Short Edge / Flip on Short Edge. The sheet is flipped around its short physical edge. This option is used for a notepad or calendar that is flipped upward.

If the reverse side is upside down, the mechanism is working correctly. Change Long Edge to Short Edge or vice versa and print the two pages again.

Step 7. Enable duplex printing in the application you are printing from

Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, browsers and other applications may store their own job settings. The setting selected in Windows properties does not always override the setting inside the application.

1. Open a two-page document.
2. Press Ctrl + P.
3. Select the same OKI queue in which you configured the driver. Do not select another icon with a similar name.
4. Find Print on Both Sides, Two-Sided or a similar two-sided printing option.
5. Do not select Manual Duplex, Manually Print on Both Sides or another mode that requires manually turning the sheets over.
6. If there is no general switch, click Printer Properties or Preferences and configure duplexing on the driver tab.
7. Make sure A4, plain paper and Tray 1 are selected.
8. Print one copy of the two pages.

If the application does not show two-sided printing

• Check whether the function is available in the system Printing Preferences. If it is missing there as well, return to the installed duplex information.
• If the function is available in the driver but missing only in one application, open the printer properties directly from that application’s print window.
• If the application still does not pass the setting, save the document as a PDF and perform a test print from another application.
• If the application asks you to turn the paper stack over manually, cancel the job: manual duplexing is selected instead of automatic duplexing.

If the printer still prints only on one side

1. Make sure the document contains two or more pages.
2. Check the selected printer icon. Windows may simultaneously have an OKI PCL queue, an OKI PS queue and an automatically created IPP queue.
3. Open the properties of the selected queue and check the Driver field again.
4. Make sure Duplex Unit is shown as installed.
5. Close the rear output tray.
6. Select A4 and plain paper. Temporarily disable printing on labels, envelopes, cards and heavy paper.
7. Select Long Edge or Short Edge again in the application’s print window.
8. Close and reopen the application if it continues to use the old settings.
9. Restart the printer and computer, then repeat the test using a simple two-page document.

If the job contains an odd number of pages, the last page may remain single-sided. This is normal behavior: there is no following page to print on the reverse side. The Duplex Last Page option, if available in the driver, controls how the last sheet is handled but does not enable the entire duplex mode.

If a jam occurs after the first side

During automatic duplexing, after the first side is printed the sheet partially exits and is then pulled back in. Do not pull it at this point: this is a normal part of the process.

1. If a paper jam message appears, cancel the job and write down the code or the area indicated on the display.
2. Open only the cover indicated on the display or in the help shown by pressing HELP.
3. Slowly remove visible paper in the direction of travel. Do not use a screwdriver, tweezers or another metal tool.
4. Check whether a small torn piece of paper remains near accessible rollers and sensors.
5. Close all covers and the rear output tray completely.
6. Replace the paper with new, flat A4 sheets weighing 75–90 g/m².
7. Make sure the tray and driver settings specify the same A4 size and plain paper type.
8. Repeat the two-sided copy test from the control panel.

If single-sided printing is stable but a fresh A4 sheet jams every time only when it is pulled back in, a fault in the rollers, sensor or duplex path drive is likely.

What to do if error 181 appears

Error code 181 indicates an internal duplex unit error. For the models covered here, you should not remove the built-in mechanism or disassemble the housing yourself.

1. Cancel the remaining print jobs.
2. Turn off the device using its normal power button and wait until shutdown is complete.
3. Disconnect the power cable for approximately one minute.
4. Make sure no paper remains in accessible areas of the paper path.
5. Reconnect the power, turn on the device and wait until it reaches the ready state.
6. Perform a test using plain A4 paper.

If error 181 appears immediately after startup or returns with every duplex job, changing the driver will not correct the cause. The duplex mechanism will require diagnostics.

When further troubleshooting by yourself will not help

Contact a service center if at least one of the following conditions applies:

• two-sided copying from the control panel does not work on plain A4 paper;
• error code 181 returns after a complete shutdown and restart;
• the sheet stops every time during reverse feeding even though new A4 paper weighing 75–90 g/m² is being used;
• cracking, grinding or another unusual sound is heard when switching to the second side;
• there is no paper in the accessible paper path, but the device continues to report a jam;
• the sheet creases, tears or comes out with a damaged edge only during two-sided printing.

When contacting support, provide the exact OKI model, Windows version, driver name from the Advanced tab, the code shown on the display and the result of the two-sided copy test. This information makes it possible to immediately distinguish a Windows configuration problem from a duplex mechanism fault.