22 Evaluating the MFP
Follow the guidelines below when measuring printing performance:
• Be sure to measure the amount of time it takes to print a complete document. (For example,
you might print a ten-page, two-sided, stapled document with a company logo on the first
page.)
Note A professional printing device is designed to print multiple-page documents. We suggest
that you print either multiple-page documents or multiple copies of a single page.
• Record any error messages.
• Perform each test three times to obtain an average. If the variances in the three tests are too
much, discard the result, check the system, and redo the test.
• Look at each page to make sure all text and graphics printed correctly. Files that print
significantly faster on one product might not be printing correctly. Some products drop
complex graphics and images when they are unable to process the whole job. Examine output
to ensure that the entire document printed and that it printed correctly.
• When comparing product performance, 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. Also,
make sure that toner is adhering to the paper properly.
Evaluating copying performance
High resolution does not directly correlate to copy quality. Copy the type of material you typically
copy, whether a book, magazine, sales brochure, or other high-quality content.
• Does the copy quality meet your expectations?
• How easy is it to adjust image quality and select output options from the control panel?
• How quickly does the page copy?
• Does it take multiple adjustments and multiple copies to get good copy quality?
Evaluating scanning performance
Scan several documents, images, and photos.
• How easy is it to configure scanning options from the control panel?
• Is the scanning software easy to use? Are there options for scanning specific document and
image types?
• Does the quality of the scanned image meet your expectations? How easy is it to obtain a
satisfactory image?
To Next Page
Loading...