How we test

Looking at features and manufacturer speed ratings will get you so far, but nothing cuts to the chase like hands-on testing. We pit printers and MFPs against a suite of tests that aim to replicate taxing real-world jobs. We start with untimed print quality tests that are designed to tease out issues with shading, ink-runs or alignment. Then we print a sheet of text in different fonts all the way down to tiny 5pt, using an eyeglass to check for sharpness and glitches in the results.

We time printer performance over a range of jobs, starting with 25 copies of the same single-page A4 letter. We time from the moment we click Print to the moment the last page drops into the output tray, also noting how quickly the first copy emerged (time to first page, or TTFP). On inkjets, we repeat this job at draft quality.

We test colour speed with a very challenging, 24-page document comprising magazine pages, presentation slides and web pages. Again, we include the job preparation and spooling time. On laser printers, we use a page from this document to get a colour TTFP, and repeat both the colour and black TTFP tests from sleep mode to determine a typical warm-up time. Where there’s duplex, we print the first ten pages of this test onto five pages to get a speed in pages per minute ( see Jargon buster).

Our final timed print tests are two 10 x 8in photos printed on A4 paper, then six 10 x 15cm photos. Where supported, the latter job is printed borderless on 10 x 15cm paper, but on lasers we print three A4 sheets, each containing two images.

For MFPs, we record the time the scanner takes to generate a preview image, then the times to scan an A4 page at 150 and 300 dots per inch (dpi). Next we scan a 10 x 15cm photo at 600 and 1,200dpi. Lastly, we capture a Q60 scan target at 600dpi, which helps to probe colour accuracy and dynamic range. We make individual black then colour copies of an A4 page, then use the ADF if present to make ten-page copies in black and colour. If duplex copying is possible, we time a ten-page/20-side colour job.

These are the core tests, but we always experiment with features such as printing from or scanning to USB sticks, memory cards or the cloud. We use a power meter to measure consumption in Watts when sleeping, in standby, and during fast printing or copying. You will find our consumption figures in the tables on p92, and we’ll mention anything especially good or bad in our reviews.