A hardware module in digital presses and printers that automatically flips a sheet of paper after the first side is printed, routing it back through the imaging unit. This allows for automated two-sided printing without manual intervention. In heavy production environments, it must maintain precise registration to ensure the front and back align perfectly.
Heard on the job
The duplexer is jamming on the heavy cardstock, so we'll have to print sheetwise and flip the pile manually.
Also heard as
- duplex unit
Do not mix it up with
- Perfecting press: A perfecting press prints both sides simultaneously or in one continuous pass, whereas a duplexer physically flips the sheet and sends it back through the same print engine.
Related terms
Perfecting
The process of printing on both sides of a sheet or web of paper in a single pass through the press.
Perfecting press
A printing machine that prints on both sides of a continuous sheet or web of paper in a single pass.
Sheetfed
Describes a printing press that takes individual, pre-cut sheets of paper.