16 Evaluating color laser printers
When evaluating more than one printer’s performance, it is crucial that you make a fair
comparison between printers.
• Print the same files on all printers, using the same or equivalent print mode settings.
• Use more than one software application to make sure software/driver conflicts are not
affecting print quality.
• Use the same type of paper for each test.
• Use the same operating system, software application, printer language, and manufacturer’s
print driver to test all printers. (Each of these components interacts with the printing process
and can affect print performance.)
• If printers are networked, use the same client and isolated or controlled network to provide a
controlled and repeatable environment. Network traffic can affect performance; therefore,
when comparing relative performance of printers, an isolated network should be used so that
network traffic is the same when testing all printers. You can use a sniffer on your network to
record the amount of network traffic being generated. To make a valid comparison, be sure
that the amount of traffic on the network is consistent when testing each printer.
What to measure
Different testing methods can be employed to gauge the performance of the HP Color LaserJet
4650 series printer. The following three types of tests are commonly used.
Click-to-drop—The total print time, from the time the print command is issued, to completion of
printing.
Return-to-application—The time from initiating the print command to the time when the computer is
available for other tasks.
Pick-to-drop—The print time, from the instant the first piece of media is picked up by the printer, to
completion of printing.
Printer warm-up+calibration—The time from turning the printer on to the time when the printer
enters the Ready state. (This time usually includes warming-up the printer, calibration, and booting
up the printer firmware.)
First page out—The time from initiating the print command to the completion of the first page.
Measure this from a variety of engine conditions (Ready, PowerSave, Off).
Running the tests
Follow the guidelines below when measuring printer performance:
• Be sure to measure the amount of time it takes to print a complete document. (For example,
you might print a 20-page duplexed document, with a cover page printed on heavier paper.)
• Perform each test three times to obtain an average. If the variances in the three tests are too
much, discard the results, check the system, and redo the tests.
• If the printer offers more than one I/O port, perform tests using each port. Although results may
vary depending on the system configuration, printing using a USB port is typically faster than
with a parallel port.
• When comparing the performance of printers, look beyond the speed trial data and consider
the acceptability of the output. There are definitely tradeoffs in print quality, but as you review
your results, look at the samples and consider whether the quality meets your standards.
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