HP OfficeJet Pro 6978 will not print duplex from Word on macOS

[BrianLMoe]

I can follow the "How to enable the root user on your Mac" instructions until 

7. From the menu bar in Directory Utility:

• Choose Edit > Enable Root User, then enter the password that you want to use for the root user.

I don't see any such option ... 

If uninstalling and reinstalling drivers is the next thing to try, please send some instructions.

Thanks!

[MKazi]

@BrianLMoe

You are most welcome. 🙂

• Click here for steps to uninstall HP Printer Software (Mac).
• Please download and install the HP Easy Start for the printer.

Hope this helps. Thanks again! 🙂

[BrianLMoe]

Hi, Kazi -

I uninstalled and reinstalled, but no difference. Still no "Two-sided" checkbox in Word dialog, and Layout > Two-Sided: Long Edge (or short edge) still prints 2 separate pages. When I go to the Priter Setup utility and choose "Options and Supplies", still no "Options" tab.

What else can we try, if anything?

Brian

[MKazi]

@BrianLMoe

Thanks for attempting the steps. I wish it worked. You may talk to HP phone support because they do have an option of taking a remote access of your PC and troubleshoot the issue for you. They may be able to identify something which I could not.

I take the privilege of thanking you for showing consistency in troubleshooting the issue with me. You are truly one of the most loyal clients of our company and it has always been a sheer pleasure to serve you. Take care and have a great year ahead. Please let me know if you have any more questions. 

[cl85]

I just bought the same printer and am having the same issue. I am using the latest edition of word for mac but the problem was there even before I updated microsoft word to the newest update. I do have the option to print two sided in microsoft word but when I click it it prints one sided even though the option is selected. I spoke to a microsoft customer support representative who stated that this specific printer is not compatable with duplex printing on microsft office for mac due to licensing issues with either mac or HP. That did not make a lot of sense to me but she did say that it was a known issue that I should not expect to be resolved in future office updates. I have had other similar problems with word where I click a setting and though I am able to check the box, the setting does not change. If it helps at all, you can print duplex if you export the word document as a PDF and print it as a PDF. It's a pain to do for every document but I'm so happy with my printer otherwise that I would rather take the extra time than return the printer. 

[BrianLMoe · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the info. I had discovered the PDF workaround, it's a bother but just one or two extra clicks, so seems to be okay. I appreciate knowing about Microsoft's reluctance to fix this issue, at least I will not waste any more time looking for a solution. 

[johnnynyquist]

I had this problem as well- working with HP support we found a workaround by using the K8600 printer drivers in place of the printer-specific drivers.  With these alternate drivers I was able to do duplex printing from word.

FYI, the 6970 driver allowed duplex printing from excel and pdf and safari, just not word.

[BrianLMoe]

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately, there appears to be no driver for K8600 for any Mac OS version, let along the macOS Sierra Version 10.12.2 that I have. Not sure if there is yet another substitute.

[johnnynyquist]

---

@BrianLMoe wrote:

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately, there appears to be no driver for K8600 for any Mac OS version, let along the macOS Sierra Version 10.12.2 that I have. Not sure if there is yet another substitute.

---

Try looking again- My computer is a mac running El Cap 10.11.6-- the technician was very fast and I didn't see exactly what he did, but it looked like he added a duplicate printer and specified a different driver. he was able to use a driver that was already on my computer because I didn't put in any admin password.  The prnter now shows up as "HP OfficeJet Pro K8600 series".  

Try adding the printer and then manually specifying the driver- I have done this before on Windows but never on Mac, but I assume it's similar.

Anyway, good luck.

[cl851]

I just figured it out! Go to microsoft word and click print. Under printer click add printer. Click on your printer and give it a new name. Then under "use" click on select software. Scroll down to HP officejet 6800 and click ok. Click add printer and when it says that you are adding a duplicate printer just click ok. For some reaason when the "new" printer is selescted it works.