Our printer performance tests evaluate the speed at which each printer produces five elements commonly found in standard documents: dense text, sparse text, bit-mapped text, graphics, and fonts. We tested printers using their default emulations and in the highest resolution available. The benchmarks run as an application under Microsoft Windows 3.1 on the PC or under System 7 on the Macintosh. Print servers, spoolers, and buffers were disabled during testing so the tests could measure the total time from the moment the first byte was sent until the last page exited the printer.
Print Quality and Usability
Our quality tests measure each printer's ability to draw a variety of lines and circles and print attractive, legible text in a wide range of sizes. They also test more esoteric features, such as a printer's paper-handling ability a
nd how well it displays reversed (i.e., white-on-black) text and graphics.
We also considered paper handling, documentation, and design of the control panel. Features that receive special note in our scoring include a printer's ability to run on battery power, its traveling weight, the base input-tray capacity, and the availability of an automatic cut-sheet feeder. Finally, we used each printer during the test cycle and rated each model based on our overall impression of the unit.
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Printer Tests
