How to Print on a Mac: Print Settings, Double-Sided, Save as PDF and Fixes

Quick answer: To print on a Mac, open the file and press Command + P (or choose File > Print). Pick your printer from the Printer menu, set Copies, the pages to print, color and Double-sided if you need them, then click Print. To make a PDF instead, click the PDF button at the bottom left of the same window and choose Save as PDF.

Published November 1, 2026 · By Lauren Elward, Castle Ink

Key Takeaways

• Command + P works everywhere: Preview, Pages, Safari, Chrome, Word, Mail and nearly every other Mac app open the same print window.
• There's no separate "Print to PDF" printer. The PDF button in the print window saves any document as a PDF.
• Two-sided printing is one menu: set Double-sided to On if your printer supports it, or print odd pages, then even pages, if it doesn't.
• Older Macs hide options behind Show Details. Newer versions of macOS list them in the window, with extra sections like Layout and Paper Handling you click to open.
• Save settings you use often as a Preset so you don't have to set black and white, two-sided or a paper type every time.
• If nothing prints, check the print queue by clicking the printer icon in the Dock. A paused printer is the most common reason jobs sit there.

How Do I Print on a Mac or MacBook?

Every Mac, from a MacBook Air to an iMac, uses the same steps: open what you want to print, press Command + P, choose a printer and click Print. The print window shows a preview on the left, and the options you see depend on your printer and the app you're using, according to Apple's Mac User Guide.

1. Open the document, photo, email or web page.
2. Press Command + P, or choose File > Print from the menu bar.
3. Choose your printer from the Printer pop-up menu.
4. Set the number of Copies and which pages to print.
5. Adjust color, Double-sided, Paper Size, Orientation or Scaling if needed.
6. Click Print.

If the defaults already look right in the preview, you can skip straight to step 6. If the Printer menu says "No Printer Selected" or your printer isn't listed, add it first with our guide on how to add a printer to a Mac (Wi-Fi, USB and IP address), then come back to Command + P.

What Do the Options in the Mac Print Window Do?

The main print window covers the everyday choices, and extra sections hold the less common ones. Here's what each control does, using the names in Apple's current Mac User Guide for macOS 27 Golden Gate. macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 15 Sequoia use the same layout, though a few labels vary (Apple's Tahoe guide calls the page setting Print Range, for example).

Where Is Show Details on a Mac?

On macOS 12 Monterey and earlier, the print window opens in a small view and you click Show Details at the bottom to see every option. Starting with macOS 13 Ventura, Apple redesigned the window so the main options are always visible and the rest sit in sections you click to expand. If you're looking for Show Details on a newer Mac, scroll down in the print window instead.

Apple lists these sections in its print settings guide:

• Layout: several pages per sheet, borders, two-sided, reverse page orientation and flip horizontally (for iron-on transfers).
• Paper Handling: Collate Sheets, odd or even pages only, normal or reverse page order, and scale to fit the paper size.
• Media & Quality: paper tray or manual feed, paper type (plain, photo, cardstock) and normal or draft quality.
• Watermark and Printer Info, which shows the printer's model, location and ink levels on supported printers.
• App options: many apps add their own section, such as Safari's background and header settings or Word's print-what choices.

Not sure what collating changes? Our plain-English guide to collate explains it.

How Do I Print Double-Sided on a Mac?

Press Command + P, set Double-sided to On, and click Print. Choose On (Short Edge) if the pages will be flipped or bound at the top, like a calendar or notepad. The option only appears when your printer has an automatic duplexer and its driver reports it.

If your printer can't print both sides automatically, do it by hand:

1. In the print window, open Paper Handling and set the pages to print to odd pages only. Click Print.
2. Take the printed stack and put it back in the tray. Most printers need it face down with the top edge going in first, but print a two-page test to check yours.
3. Press Command + P again, choose even pages only, and click Print.

Our full guide to printing double-sided covers paper orientation for HP, Canon, Epson and Brother printers.

How Do I Print to PDF or Save as PDF on a Mac?

Open the print window with Command + P, click the PDF button in the bottom-left corner, and choose Save as PDF. Name the file, pick where to save it, and click Save. Apple notes the PDF looks the same as the printed page would.

The PDF pop-up menu has a few other useful choices, per Apple's guide to saving a document as a PDF:

• Security Options (in the Save as PDF window) adds a password to open, copy or print the PDF.
• Send in Mail attaches the PDF to a new email.
• Save to iCloud Drive stores it where your iPhone and iPad can open it.
• Open in Preview shows a full-size preview first.

How do I print a PDF on a Mac? Double-click it to open it in Preview, then press Command + P. To print only some pages, enter a range, or select page thumbnails in Preview's sidebar first. If a PDF won't print or prints blank, our guide to printing a PDF and fixing one that won't print walks through the fixes.

How Do I Print From Preview, Pages, Safari and Word on a Mac?

All four use Command + P, but each adds its own options to the print window.

• Preview (PDFs and photos): File > Print. For photos, look for scale and fill options so the image isn't cropped. To print several photos at once, select them all in Finder, open them in Preview and print.
• Pages: File > Print opens the standard window. To change paper size or orientation for the document itself, use the Document sidebar in Pages before printing.
• Safari: File > Print. Safari's own options include printing backgrounds and headers and footers. For cleaner pages, turn on Reader first (View > Show Reader). More tips in how to print a webpage.
• Microsoft Word for Mac: File > Print. Word adds a section for what to print, such as the document with or without markup. Our guide to printing a Word document covers comments and tracked changes.
• Mail: open the message and press Command + P.

How Do I Print in Black and White on a Mac?

Press Command + P and turn off Print in Color. If you don't see that option, look in Media & Quality or your printer's own section for a color, grayscale or black-only setting. Driver names vary: HP, Canon, Epson and Brother each label it a little differently.

To make black and white the default, set it once, then choose Presets > Save Current Settings as Preset, give it a name like "B&W draft," and choose whether it's available for one printer or all printers. Apple's guide to saving print presets has the details, and Edit Preset List in the same menu removes old ones. For the difference between grayscale and black only, read grayscale vs. monochrome and draft mode.

How Do I Print a Screenshot (Print Screen) on a Mac?

Macs don't have a Print Screen key. Press Shift + Command + 3 to capture the whole screen, Shift + Command + 4 to drag around part of it, or Shift + Command + 5 for the Screenshot toolbar. The image saves to your desktop by default. Double-click it to open it in Preview, then press Command + P to print it.

How Do I See the Print Queue on a Mac?

Click the printer's icon in the Dock while a job is printing, or open the printer's queue from System Settings > Printers & Scanners. The queue shows each waiting job, and you can hold, resume or delete jobs there. In macOS 27, Apple's guide calls this window Print Center and notes you can also open it from the Utilities folder inside Applications.

• Jobs stuck on "Paused": select the printer and click Resume. macOS pauses a printer after an error, and new jobs wait until you resume it.
• One job blocking the rest: select it and delete it. Our guide on how to cancel a print job covers stubborn ones.
• Queue won't clear at all: reset the printing system, as explained in how to restart the print spooler on Windows and Mac.

Why Won't My Mac Print?

Most Mac printing problems come down to the wrong printer selected, a paused queue, a lost Wi-Fi connection or a printer-side problem like an empty cartridge. Work through these in order.

• Printer missing from the list: make sure the Mac and printer are on the same Wi-Fi network, then add it again. AirPrint not working covers network issues.
• "Printer is offline" or "not connected": restart the printer and your router, then try why your printer keeps going offline.
• Job sends but nothing happens: check the queue for a paused printer, then see printer not responding on Windows and Mac.
• Wrong printer every time: change the default printer in System Settings > Printers & Scanners.
• Missing options such as Double-sided or tray choice: your Mac may be using a generic driver. Remove the printer and add it again with the maker's driver; see how to install a printer driver.
• Edges cut off: check Paper Size and Scaling, then read printer cutting off the edges of the page.
• Blank or faded pages: that's usually ink or a clogged printhead. Start with why is my printer not printing at all.

How Can I Save Ink When Printing From a Mac?

Use a "draft" preset for everyday pages: turn off Print in Color, choose draft quality under Media & Quality, and turn on Double-sided, then save it as a preset you pick in one click. Printing 2 pages per sheet under Layout halves the paper for notes and drafts. Before a big job, check levels under Printer Info or with how to check ink levels on an HP printer.

Cartridge choice matters more than any setting. High-yield cartridges cost less per page: popular Mac-friendly AirPrint printers like the HP DeskJet and ENVY 6000 series take the Remanufactured for HP 67XL black, the OfficeJet Pro 8000 series uses the Remanufactured for HP 910XL 4-pack, and Brother lasers like the HL-L2350DW and MFC-L2710DW use the compatible Brother TN760 high-yield toner. For any other model, use Find Ink by Printer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Keep Your Printer Stocked

Running low halfway through a report is a Mac printing problem no setting can fix. Castle Ink has supplied remanufactured ink cartridges and compatible toner since 2005, with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Order by 4 PM ET Monday through Friday and it ships the same day, with free shipping over $50.

• HP ink cartridges and HP toner
• Brother toner cartridges
• Canon ink cartridges
• Epson ink cartridges

Printing from an iPhone or iPad as well? See how to print from an iPad.

Sources

• Apple Mac User Guide: Print documents from your Mac
• Apple Mac User Guide: Print settings on Mac
• Apple Mac User Guide (macOS Tahoe 26): Print double-sided pages
• Apple Mac User Guide: Save a document as a PDF on Mac
• Apple Mac User Guide: Save frequently used print settings
• Apple Mac User Guide: Manage printers and print jobs with Print Center

About the author: Lauren Elward writes Castle Ink's printer help guides, drawing on more than 20 years of family experience in printers, ink and toner.