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Each user after purchase new technology, seeks to test it in action as soon as possible. Of course, this also applies to printers. The only sure way to test a printer is to print a solid page. This procedure will make sure that all the basic device settings have been set correctly, in addition, you can make sure that the color is transmitted in full accordance with the desired result.

In addition to the information listed, printing a test page on an HP printer will let you know the exact version of the drivers and the model of the device you are using. All the information provided may well be useful in case there are any problems or additional questions.

Test print on an HP printer

Press the left mouse button on the “Start” button in the taskbar and from the list of services select “Control Panel.

Move the mouse cursor over the selected printer and press the right button. The printer context menu will appear. From the context menu, select the "properties" command and click on it with the left mouse button.

In the Properties menu, open the General tab and left-click on the Test Print command. If the printer is being used for the first time or has not been used for a long time, you may need to wait a few seconds (15 to 30) before printing starts. It's just that the printer driver needs time to collect all the information about the system. In the future, the print processing speed will be faster. The test page parameters of any printer are defined by default and absolutely all printer parameters are tested during printing. The test page on different models may differ.

When printing is finished, evaluate the test page. It should contain graphics, text, samples of absolutely all colors. There should be no distortion or unevenness. If the print was made with an inkjet printer, then there should be no ink streaks.

When the printer finishes printing the page, you will be prompted to save the print settings. If all the test page settings suit you, you can simply click on the command “save print settings by default.

How to print an HP test page without a computer?

To begin, load plain white paper of the appropriate size into the input tray.

A test print 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 for about 10 seconds.

What problems can arise?

But sometimes the following problem occurs: the test page did not print correctly. In this regard, the question arises of what to do in this case and how to still print this page? So, if the 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 did not help and the problem associated with the fact that the printer does not print is still relevant? In this case, give full rights to "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 the administrator has and install a new driver under his name. After that, you can withdraw the previously granted rights from him. You should also disable UAC. If the steps taken do not help, then you should run the Process Explorer utility and, during printing, pay attention to what rights are missing.

To check the print quality of printers in our laboratory, a special set of tests was developed, which is used in various combinations, depending on the type and class of the printer.

For testing monochrome and color laser printers, the complex looks like this:

1. Print speed. Where applicable, the print speed of the printer is measured using the Xerox recommended 5% coverage sample (PDF sample ).

A job is sent to the printer from several copies of the above document (to improve accuracy as a rule, 2N + 1 or 3N + 1 copies, where N is the print speed declared by the manufacturer), then the output time of the first print is subtracted from the result, and then the “net” print speed is calculated .

2. A set of control fonts. The original file in the vector CDR format of the Corel Draw program can be obtained

3. Universal test set of vector elements. Especially for testing color laser printers in raster gradient modules of each color, a 512-step fill is used. Radial lines serve to check the quality of the combination of yellow (Yellow) and turquoise (Cyan) colors for the synthesis of green shades. A 1 pt thick helix is placed in the center of the 90-point star. The original file in the vector CDR format of the Corel Draw program can be obtained

4. Comprehensive test color table IT8 Reference Target for a comprehensive check of the quality of printing raster images. Printable TIFF image placed

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When in inkjet printer running out of ink, the user needs to refill the cartridge or purchase a new print cassette. Some users purchase only original consumables, others prefer compatible inks, but both the former and the latter are interested in obtaining high-quality prints and extending the life of their printing equipment.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to check the quality of the ink in the store, so the user has to rely only on the integrity of the manufacturers and personal experience in choise Supplies. But at home it is not difficult to test the quality of the purchased ink. This will require a printer, high-quality paper, and, in fact, purchased ink. The essence of testing inkjet ink at home is to print out special test pages or test tasks and their careful analysis in order to identify the advantages and disadvantages of these inks. test page to check the quality of inkjet ink can be found on the Internet.

Test Page Elements for Inkjet Quality Testing

If you plan to use the ink for printing home photos, then the first two elements of the test page will be enough for you, but if you are using ink for professional commercial photo printing, then test page must contain all the elements listed in the figure above.

An example of a test page with the designation of its main elements is presented below.

Legend:

1, 1a – gradient transition from white to black; 2 - a portrait of a person with a natural skin tone;

3 - image fragments containing light elements on a dark background and vice versa;

4 - dies with filling of different colors.

An example of a test page with the designation of its elements

Considering the received test page, you should pay attention not to the exact match of the shades of the received image with the original, but to the balance of the selected ink set. The main criterion here is the gray fill that the inkjet printer generates during printing. The gray color should be pure, without foreign tint. If such a shade is present on the print, then the selected ink is far from ideal.

An example of color distortion in gray printing is shown in the following figure. Here is a comparison of several scans obtained during testing of inkjet ink. In testing, the same printer was used, the same settings were set when printing, printing was done on the same paper.

Ink A

Ink B

Scans from inkjet testing

Ink B and AT when printed, they form extraneous shades: on the print B– blue, printed AT- lilac. This is especially noticeable in the gray fill of the picture located in the lower right corner. Ink BUT showed accurate color reproduction, which indicates their quality and balance.

An extraneous tint can appear both on the entire image and on its individual sections. Also, the low quality of the ink may be indicated by excessive pallor of the print, distortion or mixing of colors, insufficient image clarity and low rendering of fine details. In the appearance of these signs, only ink for cartridges can be guilty. Most likely, the manufacturer did not test their ink enough and released it to the market ahead of time. Pay attention to the drawing of fine details in the darkest and lightest areas of the image. Good printer ink draws fine details better than bad ones. As an example, consider two scans of photographs printed in different inks on the same inkjet printer using the same paper.

Ink A

Ink B

Photos printed using the same photo paper

on the same inkjet printer but with different inks

Ink BUT show more realistic color reproduction and better render the smallest details of the image. Ink B do not convey halftones and small details clearly enough, their colors are not as natural and deep as on the first print. Light halftones in the figure B look flashy, there is no smooth transition between light and dark areas of the image.

If you're about to run to the supplies store for new ink after receiving poor quality test prints, stop! Practice shows that it is possible to achieve quite satisfactory print quality by experimenting with the settings in the "printer - ink - paper" system. If you do everything right, you can increase the realism and colorfulness of your photos and improve the color reproduction of midtones and shades. If you are planning to use jet ink for professional photo printing, you will have to spend a little more time finding the balance in the printer-ink-paper system. You may need to print more than one test page before you get a satisfactory image. Let's take a picture as an example.

Basic test page

The base test page has a pale yellow tint. The faces of the children shown at the bottom of the test page look faded, the shades are not vibrant and natural enough.

Open the color settings window on your computer and find the halftone curve. Reduce the yellow color in the settings, increase and adjust the brightness and clarity of the image. Print a second test page with the new settings.

Test page after additional settings color reproduction

The test page after adjusting the color reproduction looks more natural: the milky yellow tint has disappeared, the images have become more realistic, clearer, and brighter.

If the color rendering setting does not give the expected results, then most likely you are using photo paper that is not suitable for this ink. In this case, you will not get satisfactory print quality without color distortion even using original inks, not to mention cheaper compatible inks.

In conclusion, it should be noted that correct selection ink for inkjet printing- the process is quite time-consuming and complicated for the average buyer. Therefore, if you are not confident in your knowledge and strength in the field of inkjet printing and printer maintenance, it is better to seek the advice of professionals.

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The perfect test sheet. This example shows what a flawless print should look like.

recurring black dots arranged vertically on a white test sheet. This test sheet characterizes the most common type of marriage - a spot breakdown of the photoconductor photolayer. Breakdowns come in different diameters: from barely visible dots to greasy spots. In this case, it becomes necessary to completely replace the photoconductor, since there is no technology for its restoration. This solution is accepted depending on the client's requirements for print quality, since small dot breakdowns when printing only text are practically indistinguishable and there is no need to replace the photoconductor. But over time, the dots increase in size. Then it will be possible to think about replacing such an important component.

Defective magnetic shaft. A vertical stripe on a black test sheet indicates a scratch on the magnetic roller, which is a defect. In this case, the magnetic roller must be replaced, since the light strip significantly degrades the quality of printing text and pictures.

A solid vertical black line on a white test sheet. The appearance of a continuous or intermittent vertical single black or several stripes along the edges of the white test sheet indicates serious damage to the photo layer on the drum. Otherwise, such drums are called "burnt". These defects are clearly visible to the naked eye. The photo layer at the site of damage has a characteristic brown color or, if absent, exposes the following layers. The photoconductor must be replaced. On a black test sheet with such defects, a discontinuous band is visible along the edge.

An example of the marriage of Samsung and Xerox cartridges. They differ from defects on HP and Canon cartridges due to the difference in the technological device. Spots on both test sheets, vertical streaks on the black test sheet, and repeated horizontal dots on white indicate the need to replace the large rubber roller, photoconductor.

The toner is low. The photo shows what the test sheet looks like when the toner cartridge runs out. This is especially noticeable on the black test sheet. This example is not a defect. It's just time to refill the cartridge.

Divorces and waves on a light dough. The appearance of streaks and waves on a light test indicates improper storage of the cartridge, as a result of which it has become damp. In this case, the consumable must be cleaned of old toner and refilled in a new way.

Vertical stripe, pallor print. The paleness of the print, a well-defined vertical stripe on the black test result from scratches on the magnetic roller, as well as its strong wear. The same symptoms appear when the photoconductor is burnt out. To improve print quality, it is advisable to replace worn or damaged components.

Toner stuck on the squeegee. Sometimes toner can stick to various parts of the cartridge due to the temperature rise in the printer during operation, significantly reducing print quality. It is necessary to clean the squeegee, remove excess toner from the parts.

We talked about the main defects of cartridges and their impact on print quality.

Most often, people buy printers for specific tasks. Both an advanced digital photographer with high quality requirements and a caring parent, choosing an inexpensive printer “for study” for their child, albeit vaguely, formulate the qualitative characteristics of the device. Therefore, when developing this technique, we proceeded primarily from the possible areas of application of each specific model of the printing device.

To eliminate pointless testing of printers in all possible (and innumerable multiple) combinations of applications, drivers, modes of operation and settings, we primarily start from several generalized types of printers, users who may need certain features, and tasks specific to each printer . From this it follows that we do not aim to make, say, an inexpensive inkjet in the category "under $ 100" work in conditions more suitable for a powerful laser printer with its own PostScript interpreter.

1. Maximum print speed

This test shows top speed printing mechanism. Multiple copies of a single-page PDF file are sent to the printer with a standard 5% page coverage. The number of copies launched for printing corresponds to the number of copies per minute declared by the manufacturer + 1 copy. The time measurement starts immediately after the printer issues the first copy. This eliminates the dependence of the result on the power of the computer, file type, drivers, printer interface and the speed of processing the job by the printer itself.

The test runs on all types of printers. The result is the number of pages / min.

2. Printing a multi-page document with illustrations

Unlike the previous test, which simulates the replication of a one-page document, this test shows the printing time of a simple 20-page PDF document containing small RGB bitmap illustrations and 10 point text. The print is made from Adobe software Reader 6.0; time is measured from the moment the document is launched for printing. Since the volume and type of the document are not standardized, and the processing time of the task by the driver is also measured, the result reflects the relative performance of a particular “application-computer-printer” bundle. The test stand configuration is given in the appendix.

The test runs on all types of printers. The result is the time in minutes, seconds.

3. Evaluation of the quality of font reproduction

This test allows you to evaluate the quality of printing text material typed in serif and sans-serif fonts (Times New Roman and Arial, respectively). Font sizes are reduced from 72pt to 2pt.

If the printer does not support PostScript, a PDF file will be printed from Adobe Reader 6.0. However, if the manufacturer declares support for the PostScript standard, the test page is output to the printer directly from the Adobe InDesign CS layout package.

The test runs on all types of printers. The result is the minimum readable font size (size in points), the print quality of curvilinear and oblique letter elements. The readability of the font means the preservation of the integrity of the main elements of the letters (the absence of "swollen" elements or breaks in the letters).

4. Printing a universal test strip

A special test page is formed in such a way as to show explicitly the capabilities of the printer. The following items are available for evaluation:

neutral density scale. Range 0-10% in 1% steps, 10-90% in 10% steps, and 90-100% in 1% steps;
color stretch CMYKRGB 100-0%;
scales showing the minimum and maximum reproducible CMYK ink densities. The minimum densities are the numbers from 1 to 8, painted in their respective shades, on a white background (0%). Maximum densities - numbers from 92 to 99 with the corresponding color on the background of 100%. Each color has its own pair of scales;
a scale consisting of 100% solids of RBGYMCK colors;
RYGCBM color stretch created using Adobe Photoshop CS;
text typed in sizes from 4pt to 8pt (5–9 pt for decorative type) in styles: decorative, serif, sans serif. Options are given: normal (black text on a white background), reverse (white text on a black background) and color (text of different colors on a rich green background);
scales that allow you to measure the maximum reproducible lineature. They are sets of concentric circles. Available values, in lines per inch: 60-80 in 5 l/d increments, 80-170 in 10 l/d increments;
a set of scales that allow you to evaluate the combination of colors and the accuracy of the printer calibration.

They are sets of longitudinal, transverse, oblique, wavy and intersecting lines of different colors.

All test elements are located on a solid gray background that has no margins, which allows you to determine the actual print margin of the printer.

For non-PostScript printers, a PDF document is printed from Adobe Reader 6.0. For PostScript printers, printing is done directly from the Adobe InDesign CS layout package. The printed strip is scanned, after which all parameters are evaluated.

The test runs on all types of printers. The result is the actual values of all parameters.

5. Evaluation of the quality of color reproduction

This test consists of a selection of photographs that are typical for assessing color fidelity, saturation and image detail:

photo of a brown bear. Dark wool with rich tonal variations allows you to appreciate the reproduction of details in the shadows;
photo of a woman with a dog. The dog's light coat, the woman's clothes, and a fragment of the pier make it possible to appreciate the transmission of details in the highlights;
a photograph of a boy reveals the quality of the transfer of flesh tones;
a black-and-white family photo with a wide range of tones helps to evaluate the quality of the printer's reproduction of the entire gamut of neutral shades;
photography of vegetables. The colors of vegetables and greens are very familiar to all of us, therefore we use them as commemorative colors and add their contribution to the assessment of color rendering;
photo of a motorcycle engine. Metallic surfaces, glare, and harsh shadows show the printer's ability to produce high-contrast images with deep shadows and "ringing" reflections;
photographs of instruments contain small details (texture of gloves, leather, scratched metal surface), warm, cold and neutral shades. In addition to checking print detail, they help evaluate color separation algorithms. To this end, one of the photos is in CMYK space and the other has an embedded sRGB color profile. The profile with which the image was converted to CMYK space is non-standard, created by us with our own hands. However, this profile has been repeatedly used in preparing images for high-quality sheet offset printing which proved its viability. The sRGB profile for the neighboring photo was not used by chance: in an increasing number of devices ( digital cameras, monitors, printers) declares full support for this space, so it becomes interesting comparison two different approaches: independent color separation in Photoshop or automatic - by the printer driver. Due to the fact that it makes no sense to print CMYK images on printers that do not support PostScript and then find fault with the color quality, for such devices this test only evaluates end-to-end sRGB profiling;
pictures of parrots are a synthetic test. The feathers on the chest of parrots contain many details, but at the same time they have a pronounced dominant color. Because in real life we rarely have to deal with such saturated colors, the more revealing this kind of stress test will be, which reveals the printer's borderline capabilities.

All images (except the photo of the instruments) have a resolution of 300dpi. Photo tools - 600 dpi. Non-PostScript printers use a PDF file with RGB versions of images without embedded profiles (with the exception of one of the photo tools). On PostScript printers, images in CMYK version (except for one of the instrument photos) are output directly from the layout package. Printers that support PDF format are sent a PDF file with CMYK versions of images (with the same exception as in the previous case). Photo printers are printed from the Adobe Photoshop CS package, each image (in the RGB version) is printed in a separate session. Also for photo printers, the time elapsed from the start of a print job to the output of the finished sheet is measured.

The test runs on all types of printers. The result is a visual assessment of the printed samples and the time in minutes, seconds.

6. Other

Along with the main characteristics of the printer, end user it is also important to know such parameters as the noise of the printer, the ergonomics of the controls, the thoughtfulness of the design and even the aesthetic impression of appearance printer. We do not attach absolute importance to these parameters and evaluate them subjectively.

Paper used when testing laser printers:

uncoated paper with a density of 200-220g/m2.

Paper used when testing inkjet printers:

plain, uncoated, office paper with a density of 80g/m 2 ;
third-party universal glossy inkjet paper;
high quality glossy photo paper inkjet printers from a third party manufacturer;
high-quality inkjet photo paper recommended by the printer manufacturer.

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