20 Evaluating color laser printers
What to measure
Different testing methods can be employed to gauge the performance of the HP Color LaserJet
5550 series printer. The following 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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