Often, printer users have to resort to a procedure such as printing a test page. This allows you to ensure that the device's basic settings are correct for printing. In addition, the test page displays all information about the printer model and driver version. All this information can be very useful and necessary when troubleshooting various problems.
But office equipment users often have the following question: how to print a test page? So, to perform a procedure such as a test print, you first need to select the “Control Panel” menu from the list of services. Next, in the section where the entire list of printers is displayed, find the device model that interests you.
Right-click on the printer icon, then select from the menu that appears. context menu"properties" command. In the window that opens, go to the “general” tab, then click on the command that involves launching test print. Please note that if the device is starting up for the first time or has not been used for a long period of time, it will take longer than usual to print a sheet. The fact is that the printer in this case First you need to collect all necessary information about the system and this may take about one minute. The test page parameters in any printer are usually set to “default”. Therefore, when printing a test page, it tests absolutely the entire list of parameters.
Then you may be wondering what to do next. Next, you will need to carefully evaluate the test page - it should have samples of all colors, as well as text and graphics. If such printing was carried out using an inkjet device, then make sure that there are no ink stains on the page. If the test done suits you, you can click on the command that implies saving the default printing settings. Otherwise, go ahead and customize them to suit your needs. For example, if necessary, you can mark only the nozzle test. Thanks to this, you can immediately know which colors are printing normally and which ones are printing with various problems. Additionally, a nozzle test is necessary to ensure that the ink is entering the print head in the correct order.
But sometimes the following problem occurs: the print test page is printed incorrectly. In this regard, the question arises about what to do in this case and how to print this page?
So, if the print test page does not print correctly, then one of the possible problems lies in old or “broken” drivers. To solve it, you need to download and install their updated version. But what if this action it didn’t help and the problem with the printer not printing is still relevant? In that case, give full rights“Everyone” for “C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS”, then delete the desired printing device in the registry branch “HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Printers”. In addition, give the normal user the rights that an administrator has and install the new driver under his name. After this, you can take back the previously granted rights. You should also disable UAC. If the steps taken do not help, then you should run the Process Explorer utility and, while printing, pay attention to what rights are missing.
If, until recently, a normally printing printer still prints a test page incorrectly, then you can use the Procmon utility from Sysinternals. Run it and configure the “denied” filter using the line Result – contains. Next, print a test page, after which this utility will show which folder you did not have full rights to. For example, this could be the “TEMP” folder.
It is also worth adding that there is also such a procedure as a stop test, which is used for. To use this type of test, while printing a page, you must turn off the power, and then look at the copy that has not yet completely exited the device. Thanks to this procedure, you can determine the cause of poor printing, which may lie in the cartridge, transfer of the image to paper and the thermal unit.
In addition, sometimes a printer disconnected from the PC does not even print a test page. This problem may be caused by missing or jammed paper, or an incorrectly installed cartridge. or by connecting the device to the computer and reading the corresponding description in the driver. In general, almost any breakdown during operation of the printer can be done independently, but if you do not know the reason, it is better to use the services of a service center.
Printer testing method
Testing methodology for various types printers differ due to several factors. But during the testing process, experts still adhere to certain common standards and a more or less uniform approach. One could even say that over several decades, which became a period of rapid development of the printing market, a list of rules for conducting printer testing techniques was formed. True, each type of printing device has its own specific rules. For example, the testing process for color laser and inkjet printers is somewhat different from testing dot-matrix or dye-sublimation printers.
The most great importance In the process of testing printers, we pay attention to the quality characteristics of printing and the performance of the printing device. After all, these are the indicators that concern potential buyer most. Of course, along with print quality and performance, the user is also interested in the cost of the printer itself and the costs associated with its maintenance. IN Lately When testing a printer, attempts are made to characterize the printing device in terms of whether the print quality provided corresponds to the stated cost.
Regardless of what type of printer is being tested, attention must be paid to the following parameters:
1. specifications printer, its hardware capabilities;
2. the printing technology used, its advantages and disadvantages;
3. design of the printing device body, quality of its execution;
4. printer software, availability useful programs and their effectiveness;
5. Printer equipment upon delivery.
Checking the Printer Print Quality
Print quality depends on many factors, and when testing a printer, it will be determined by the printing technology used by the printer, as well as the paper weight, ink, and printer software.
It is the connection of all these factors that makes it possible to make a final “verdict” on the quality characteristics of the printer being tested.
When assessing print quality Special attention You should pay attention to the level of color rendering, the ability to accurately convey the halftones of the original image. Very often, the transmission of halftones depends on whether the printer is able to provide high-quality and uniform shading various areas, especially the light areas of the image.
In many ways, print quality also depends on the resolution of the printer, that is, the factor that affects the level of printing of small image details. In this regard, it is worth noting that in most cases, the print resolution declared by the manufacturer does not correspond to the real state of affairs, and real indicators can only be discovered during testing of the printer.
Basic methods for assessing print quality
The procedure for checking the quality of a print involves a subjective and objective assessment of the image made by the printer.
Subjective assessment of a print involves visually examining the print to determine print defects that are visible to the naked eye.
An objective assessment of a print involves a number of more complex procedures aimed at identifying printing defects. In the process of objectively assessing a print, the test image is first placed in a reference scanner, after which it is transferred to electronic variant. Then the difference between the original and the digital version of the photo is determined. This is done using special software that allows you to record RGB indicators from special “dies”. When digitizing an image, a scanner may, of course, allow some error. To prevent this, the scanner is calibrated before testing.
In the case of testing black and white printers, the procedure for assessing print quality is greatly simplified, since the study color characteristics not required in this case.
Checking the Printer Print Speed
All manufacturing companies in the documentation included with the printer indicate such a printing characteristic as its speed. This “value” is measured in pages per minute, and it relates to various printer operating modes.
But you should not unconditionally trust the specified data on the printing speed of a printer, since you cannot be sure that when measuring the speed indicators of their printer models, all manufacturers use the same reference documents.
Therefore, if you need to compare the speed performance of printers from different brands in order to decide on the device you need, it is best to trust the results of independent testing conducted in good laboratories. Independent testing involves using the same templates to test the print speed of printers belonging to different brands. It is this data that will allow you to more or less objectively compare the speed characteristics of printers.
Printer printing speed is tested using electronic A4 format models of three various types. The first layout is 1 black and white page with text. The second layout is 1 page with text and graphic elements. The third layout is 1 page with a color photo, which is printed on high-quality photo paper in maximum print quality mode.
When printing all three types of test pages, the countdown time runs from the moment printing starts until the page is completely printed.
Main types of printer tests
Basic printer tests include tests that subsequently allow comparison of print quality and speed. various models printers.
To make it more convenient to compare the characteristics of printers with different print formats (for example, A4 and A3), paper of the same size is used during testing for such printers.
There are only seven main printer tests:
1. Test to determine the quality and speed characteristics of color printers. Test print carried out on office paper and high quality photo paper.
2. Determination test quality characteristics black and white printing. Test printing is carried out on A4 office paper.
3. Test to determine the speed characteristics of black and white printing. Test printing is carried out on A4 office paper.
4. Test to determine the speed characteristics of mixed printing, which consists of elements of text, color and black and white graphics. Test printing is carried out on A4 office paper.
5. Test to determine the resolution of black and white printing. Test printing is carried out on A4 office paper.
6. Test to determine the resolution of color printing. Test printing is carried out on A4 office paper.
7. Ink test to determine its resistance to moisture. Testing is carried out using damp cotton wool and only after the print has dried.
Additional printer tests
In addition to the seven main tests for printers, which allow you to analyze the level of performance of the printing device of its basic functions, there are additional methods for testing printers that are focused on the study and analysis of operating characteristics additional features printing device.
Additional tests for printers include the following:
- checking the quality and speed of printing on the surface of CDs;
- checking the quality and speed of printing on roll paper;
- checking the quality and speed of printing on thick media.
Additional testing for the printer is determined, first of all, by the presence of a particular function in the printing device.
How the printer is tested
The printer testing procedure begins with calibrating the device's print heads. This is necessary in order to ensure the highest level of print quality, color rendition, and detail printing available to the printer.
Some models of printing devices require the installation of additional cartridges to ensure high-quality printing. When testing in such cases, these cartridges are installed. This allows you to get more accurate results when testing.
Printing during testing is carried out with automatic installations print. However, quite often, especially if the printer supports a large number of printing modes, during testing, printing is carried out in all valid modes and its results are analyzed.
The process of testing a printer is largely determined by the characteristics of the printing device being tested, its capabilities and functions.
Five types of test pattern files are used to test the printer's print performance.
| The TF1 file is used when testing the quality and speed characteristics of color printers, as well as when analyzing the printer’s ability to produce high-quality color reproduction and the transmission of halftones and shades. Test printing of the TF1 file is carried out on office paper and high quality photo paper. File TF1 is a sheet of A4 paper on which a special target is depicted. This target contains several color drawings, as well as one black and white image. They help make a subjective assessment of the printer's print quality. In addition, this target contains a black triangle with a gradient fill from 0% to 100% and a plate consisting of multi-colored sections. 7 colors on the die have different intensities and specific meanings color space RGB. This die serves to objectively assess the color rendering provided by a specific printer model. |
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 | To check the printer's black-and-white and color resolution, use the TF2 test file. When checking black and white print resolution, use office paper standard size A4. When checking color printing resolution, A4 photo paper is used. The TF2 test PDF file is an image consisting of several groups of elements. Each group of elements, in turn, is also divided into six separate parts. The elements of each group are numbered, and each subsequent element is slightly smaller in size than the previous one. Single element The TF2 test file group is a triangle. Half of the triangles in each group are vertical and the other half are vertical. In accordance with the quality of printing of each triangle by the printer, the resolution of the printer is determined. |
 | The TF3 test template file is used to determine the quality of black and white text printing. To check the print quality using the TF3 file, standard A4 size office paper is used. The TF3 test file is a doc format document. This document consists of lines of various sizes, typed in various types of fonts using in various ways styles. After printing this file, it becomes possible to determine the print level. The readability of small fonts also indicates the printer's resolution. The printer's black and white print speed is measured using the TF4 test file. During the testing process, standard A4 size office paper is used. |
The TF4 test file is a doc format document consisting of 1 page with text in 10 point New Roman font with single line spacing and standard style.
The period of time during which the printer is able to print a given page is an indicator of the speed of monochrome printing.
The start of the time count in this case is the beginning of the printer's job execution. The countdown ends when the printed sheet leaves the printer and enters the tray.
The printer's mixed print speed is measured using the TF5 test file.
Mixed printing involves printing black and white and color text, as well as black and white and color graphics.
The TF5 test file is printed on a standard sheet of A4 office paper.
The TF5 test file is a doc format document with text and graphic content. The text in the TF5 test file is printed in Times New Roman font, 10 point. The text style is standard, the spacing between lines is single.
The graphics in the TF5 test file are represented by 2 images in the form of diagrams.
Checking the color quality of the printer
To measure the quality of a printer's color reproduction, methods similar to the principles of testing scanners are used.
The color quality testing process begins with digitizing a scanned TF1 test file. Digitization is carried out in color mode with the maximum resolution of the scanner. The resulting file is used to define RGB components in certain areas. This is done using the Adobe Photoshop graphic editor as follows: in all areas of different brightness, the results of the transmission of seven colors (red, green, blue, yellow, black, magenta, cyan) are recorded.
After this, all received data is entered into a color table, and using this data, the correctness of the printer’s reproduction of various colors and shades is determined. This coefficient is determined using the formula
K= ((Red1-Red2) + (Green1-Green2) + (Blue1+Blue2)) / 77, where
K – coefficient of correctness of color reproduction by the printer;
Red1, Green1, Blue1 – data of control color points on the reference image;
Red2, Green2, Blue2 – data of control color points in the scanned image.
As a result, the smaller the calculation result, the more accurate color rendering the printer provides.
Checking the color balance and halftone quality of the printer
For printers: With the printer turned off, press the “Sheet” button without releasing it, press the “on” button, release it, continuing to hold the “Sheet” button for 10 seconds.
For MFPs without a monitor: the same process, only instead of a “sheet” there is a “Stop” button (triangle in a circle)
For with monitor: in the tab “Installation” - “Maintenance” - “Checking the nozzle” - “start” - “print”.
Have you purchased a brand new printer? In any case, you will need to print test pages to check print quality. It’s good if the printer is connected to a computer through which you can start this process. What if this is not possible? How to print a test page without a computer? Let's figure it out.
So, the following tips will be useful for many: modern devices. Start by loading regular white sheets of paper of the appropriate size into the input tray.
The print test page for inkjet printers is printed as follows: turn off the device with the button, press the “Sheet” button without releasing it, press the “ON” button, release it, continue to hold the “Sheet” button for about 10 seconds.
For Canon printers: hold down both buttons (in this case, the Resume and ON buttons) until the power indicator lights up. After that, hold down the ON button, release and press the Resume button twice, release both buttons. After this, the readiness indicator will light up, which will signal the service mode. To print a test sheet, press Resume once, confirm the action with the ON button.
Printing a test sheet for a multifunction without a display: a similar process, only instead of the “Sheet” button there is a “Stop” button (triangle in a circle)
Test page for inkjet printing with a multifunctional display equipped with a display: select the “Installation” tab, then “Maintenance” - the “Nozzle Check” menu - “Start” and “Print”.
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To evaluate the quality of inkjet ink, three types of test pages: TF1, TF2 and TF3.
TF1 test page used to test the quality of color inks. It allows you to analyze the ability of the ink to produce accurate color reproduction of shades and halftones.
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Sample TF1 test files
The TF1 test page is printed on standard A4 paper. It is a collection of monochrome and color images, multi-colored square “dies” and areas with a gradient fill from zero to one hundred percent.
Using the TF1 test page, you can objectively evaluate both the color rendition of any one inkjet ink, and organize comparative testing of several types of ink.
To determine the color rendering quality of inkjet inks, the resulting TF1 test pages are digitized using a color scanner. The resulting files are used to define RGB components in certain areas of the page. To do this, using the Adobe Photoshop graphic editor, the result of transmitting the primary ink colors is recorded, and the resulting data is entered into a color table. The resulting table allows you to determine the coefficient of correct reproduction of ink of various colors and shades. This coefficient is calculated using the formula:
Formula for determining the correctness coefficient
The lower the coefficient of correctness of reproduction of colors and shades, the more accurate color reproduction will be provided by inkjet printer ink.
The data obtained when checking the color rendering quality of inkjet ink allows us to construct a graph in which we plot the distance on the X-axis, and pixel values on the Y-axis. We connect the dots and get a single line, the dips and peaks on which indicate an unbalanced color rendering. If there are no dips or peaks, then the color rendition is balanced. The recommended range of deviations of RGB values should not exceed 255.
The next test page that is used to evaluate the quality of inkjet ink is the TF2 page.
TF2 test page
TF2 test page is a PDF file consisting of several groups of elements, which, in turn, include six independent parts, located vertically and horizontally. Groups of elements on the TF2 test page are numbered, with each previous element slightly larger than the next. The quality of printing of the smallest elements of the test page determines the resolution of inkjet ink.
TF2 test pages are used to test monochrome and color inkjet inks. TF2 pages are printed on A4 paper. In this case, when testing monochrome inks, standard office paper is used, and when testing color inks, photo paper is used.
The third type of test pages are TF3 files, used to determine the quality of black monochrome ink.
IntroductionWhen drawing up a methodology for testing printers, the main question that arose was whether it was worth making it separate for different types of devices. Under the general name of printers, there are actually hidden devices that are quite different in capabilities and purpose. An attempt to find and apply a universal cure for all diseases does not always lead to success - the patient may die. However, the desire to adhere to some common standards and a unified approach to testing peripheral devices in this category ultimately prevailed, albeit with certain reservations. These, first of all, were restrictions on the types of printers that fall under the scope of this technique. We deliberately extended its effect only to color inkjet and laser printers, without adapting it to matrix and thermal sublimation printers, due to its specificity and low prevalence similar models on Russian market. In principle, this document can be used as a guide in the future when testing monochrome laser printers, excluding from it the items regulating the determination of color rendering quality.
The methodology we created concerns mainly two the most important characteristics printers, which, of course, are print quality and performance. Of course, there is a third indicator - the cost of the product, which worries all users, but it is not within the scope of this technique and is dictated by the seller of the product. We can only subjectively assess the correspondence of the price of the printer to its other characteristics we are considering. In addition to this, of course, there are other factors that influence the decision to purchase a particular printer.
Before moving directly to the testing methodology, let's say a few words about other aspects that we will take into account when considering the next model of a printing device. It's about about the following parameters:
Specifications;
Printing technology;
Design;
Software;
Printer equipment.
