How to Make a Copy on a Printer: All-in-One Copying Guide

If your printer has a scanner lid on top, it is also a photocopier, and you do not need a computer to use it. Knowing how to make a copy on a printer saves a trip to a copy shop for forms, homework, receipts and ID documents. The basic copy takes three button presses; the useful extras, such as copying both sides of a card onto one page or shrinking a document to fit, are a menu away. This guide uses Canon and Brother manuals as examples; other makers’ menus use similar names.

What you need

• An all-in-one (multifunction) printer, one that can scan. A print-only model cannot copy. Our guide to whether an all-in-one printer is worth it explains the difference.
• Paper in the tray, usually plain A4 or Letter.
• Enough ink or toner. A copy uses the same supplies as printing; check ink levels if copies come out faint.

The basic copy

The steps are much the same on every all-in-one. Brother’s guide for the MFC-J4335DW series:

1. Load paper of the correct size in the paper tray.
2. Load your document. On the scanner glass, place it face down, aligned with the corner mark. In an automatic document feeder (ADF), if your printer has one, load pages as the feeder’s markings show, usually face up.
3. Press COPY (or Copy on a touchscreen).
4. Enter the number of copies.
5. Change any copy settings if needed.
6. Press Black Start or Color Start.

Brother notes that if you load paper other than Letter-size plain paper, you must change the Paper Size and Paper Type settings; printers sold elsewhere may default to A4.

Simple printers without a screen work too. Canon’s TS3300 manual: load A4, Letter, B5 or A5 plain paper, select the matching paper size on the display, place the original on the glass, and press the Black or Color button. To make several copies, press the same button repeatedly while the display flashes. Canon also warns not to open the cover or remove the original until scanning has finished.

Useful copy settings

Brother’s copy settings page is a good map of what most all-in-ones offer:

Setting	What it does
Quality	Chooses copy resolution; a faster draft mode saves ink
Paper Type and Paper Size	Must match the paper you loaded
Enlarge/Reduce	Preset ratios, Fit to Page, or Custom from 25 to 400%
Density	Darker or lighter text
Remove Background	Whitens coloured or grey backgrounds and saves some ink
2-sided Copy	1-sided to 2-sided, or 2-sided to 2-sided
Stack/Sort	Groups copies by page or as complete sets
Page Layout	N in 1, 2 in 1 ID, or poster copies
Auto Deskew	Straightens a slightly skewed original

Canon’s basic models offer a similar choice between Standard and Draft quality: on the TS3300, holding the Black or Color button for two seconds or more starts a draft copy that prioritises speed.

Copying an ID card, both sides on one page

Many forms ask for a copy of both sides of an ID card or driving licence. Instead of copying twice and wasting a sheet, use the ID copy feature where your printer has one. Brother’s copy settings include a 2 in 1 ID layout that prints both sides of a card on a single page; on most machines you scan one side, then turn the card over when the screen asks. Place the card in the area the manual indicates, usually near the corner of the glass.

Before copying an ID, see the legal note below, and only give copies to organisations that genuinely need them.

Enlarging, reducing and fitting

Enlarge/Reduce handles three common jobs:

• Making small print readable, by enlarging a receipt or a page of a book.
• Fitting a larger original onto your paper, for example copying a slightly oversized page onto A4 or Letter. Brother’s Fit to Page adjusts the copy size to the paper size you set. Place the original straight: Brother’s Auto Deskew setting only corrects originals skewed by less than three degrees.
• Custom ratios between 25 and 400% for anything else.

The same idea applies when printing from a computer; see fit to page vs actual size.

Copying photos

Some printers can copy a photo onto photo paper. Canon’s TS3300, for example, copies onto 10 x 15 cm (4 x 6), 13 x 18 cm (5 x 7) or square photo paper when you select that size on the display, and it automatically resizes the original to fit and copies without borders. For better results with old prints, scanning them and printing from a computer gives you more control over colour and cropping; see how to scan documents at home and photo printing at home.

Saving ink and paper on copies

• Use Black Start for text. Colour Start on a black-and-white original can use colour ink for no benefit.
• Use draft quality for working copies.
• Use Remove Background for documents printed on coloured or grey paper.
• Copy two-sided or use 2 in 1 layouts for multi-page documents.
• Scan instead of copying when the copy is going to be emailed anyway.

What you should not copy

Canon’s manual includes a list of items that it says may be punishable under law to scan, print or copy, and notes that the list is not exhaustive. It includes paper money, money orders, postage stamps, passports, immigration papers, motor vehicle licences and titles, government-issued cheques, stock certificates and bonds, and copyrighted works or works of art without the owner’s consent. Laws differ by country, so when in doubt, check locally before copying an official document. A copy of your own ID for a legitimate purpose is generally a different matter from reproducing documents, but keep such copies safe and shred them when no longer needed.

When copying goes wrong

• Blank or very faint copies: check the original faced the right way and the ink is not empty.
• Streaks: clean the scanner glass with a soft, dry cloth; if prints from the computer show streaks too, see print head clogging.
• Cut-off edges: use Fit to Page, or move the original away from the very edge of the glass.