Evaluating color laser printers 15
Evaluation
Print quality is more than the number of dots per inch (dpi) that the printer places on a page; a
higher dpi does not always mean better print quality. Print quality is affected by many factors, such
as color capability, text quality, solid colors, and edge enhancements. This section offers some
practical advice for conducting your own print quality evaluation.
Creating samples
When evaluating print quality, test a group of sample documents that represent what the end-user
will print on the printer. It is important to test files like those that are printed in your workplace.
Most print quality files or print samples included with a product have been optimized for that
product and may not reflect the type of output you will receive.
Your samples should include multiple documents and file types, each created in the applications
that will be used by the end-user. The samples should have different elements (text, graphics, and
photographic images) and should vary in complexity and page length.
Some suggested content includes simple text documents, mixed text and graphics, and complex
graphics containing photographic images.
CAUTION! Using only one application or file can skew test results. Use several types of files
and applications to present a broad and realistic performance picture.
Follow these guidelines for printing sample documents:
• When evaluating more than one printer’s print quality, it is crucial that you make a fair
comparison between printers. Print the same files on all printers, using the same or equivalent
settings. Use the same operating system, software application, printer language, and driver to
test all printers. (Each of these components interacts with the printing process and can affect
print quality.)
• Use more than one software application to make sure software/driver conflicts are not
affecting print quality.
• For most printers, paper quality and type can dramatically affect print quality. However, the
HP Color LaserJet 5550 series printer provides excellent results on both plain paper and
special media. When comparing the print quality of different printers, you may want to
evaluate the output on different types of media.
Simple: text, line art, and
basic clip art
Mixed: from complex text
to a mixture of text and
medium-complexity
graphics
Comple
: photo
raphic ima
es and
advanced graphics (using overlays or fill
patterns)
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