Evaluating color laser printers 17
Evaluating print quality
When you evaluate the overall print quality of an output, avoid magnification. Under
magnification, insignificant differences become huge. However, a detailed inspection is still
necessary, and when doing this, look for the following characteristics:
Text print quality
• Text should be dark, not faded.
• Text should be solid black, without hollow spots.
• Edges should be crisp and smooth, not jagged, or with stair-stepping.
• Portrait and landscape text should have the same print quality.
• Printed output should not blur or bleed.
Graphics quality
• Edges of colored shapes and graphics should be well formed and smooth.
• Solid color fills should be uniform.
• Check for banding—there should be no bands across graphics.
• Areas of solid black should not bleed into areas of solid colors.
Image quality
• Images should be clear and sharp.
• There should be no bands across images.
• There should be no graininess or visibility of dots.
• Skin tones should look natural.
• Images should look natural and realistic.
Evaluating document durability and usability
After you have finished evaluating the print quality of your samples, evaluate the documents’
durability and usability. Test the following:
• Can the printed output be fed through a copier without being damaged?
• Will the printed output fade over time or smear with moisture?
• Can the printed output be easily scratched, melted, or otherwise damaged?
• Is the printed output durable? Can it be folded?
• Does the best quality output require printing on special paper?
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