Color test page. Test printer with built-in CISS Epson L800 from the magazine "Photo Workshop. How to print a test page

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 chart IT8 Reference Target for a comprehensive check of the quality of printing raster images. Printable TIFF image placed

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.

It is difficult to focus on an uncalibrated monitor, since the similarity of the print with the monitor screen will be partial.

There are three options for checking a color profile. The first way to print black and white photos - they must be black and white, without color impurities. You need to watch after the ink is completely stabilized and at the source for which it was ordered color profile. The second way is to print photos and compare them with a calibrated monitor. It is possible that you will have to compare in paper simulation mode. Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, CorelDraw can do this. The third way is to print our test images and visually analyze their quality. The fact is that sometimes the printed image itself has a color shift, especially when shooting indoors. We tried to collect images without obvious color deviations.

Two blocks of images are presented:

Checking RGB drivers. Printing from Windows native printer drivers. RGB color profile.
Checking photo labs (wet printing). RGB pictures.

COLORED TEST PATTERNS FOR PHOTOLABORATORY CHECK (WET PRINT).

Introduction When drawing up a methodology for testing printers, the main question that arose was whether it should be made separate for different types of devices. Under the general name of printers, in fact, devices that are quite different in capabilities and purpose are hidden. An attempt to find and apply a universal cure for all diseases does not always lead to success - the patient may die. Nevertheless, the desire to adhere to some common standards and a unified approach to testing peripheral devices in this category eventually prevailed, however, with certain reservations. First of all, these were restrictions on the types of printers that fall under the scope of this technique. We deliberately extended its action only to color inkjet and laser printers, without adapting it to dot matrix and sublimation printers, due to the specificity and low prevalence of such 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 that regulate the definition of color rendering quality.
Our methodology focuses on two the most important characteristics printers, which, of course, are print quality and productivity. Of course, there is a third indicator - the cost of the product, which excites all users, but it is not within the competence of this technique and is dictated by the seller of the goods. We can only subjectively evaluate the conformity of the price of the printer with its other characteristics we are considering. In addition, of course, there are other factors that influence the decision to purchase a particular printer.
Before proceeding 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 the printing device. These are the following parameters:

Specifications;
Print technology;
Structural execution;
Software;
Printer kit.

It makes no sense to describe in detail the above points - most users who deal with printers in the slightest degree understand what is at stake.

Print quality

The indicator "quality of the press" has the generalized character. In fact, it is formed as a result of the interaction of several components, which together make it possible to end up with a pleasing picture on a paper sheet. The total result will depend on the printing technology, ink, paper, software and some other factors. Naturally, in our case, the task is to control what we get at the output.
One of the main factors that form a high-quality image is the ability of the printer to provide correct color reproduction. Let's make a reservation right away that we are talking about the technical side of this issue, and not about the most beautiful and pleasant-looking image. As a result of its work, the printer must print the image that matches the electronic original as closely as possible in three color components (RGB) in each pixel. Here it would be appropriate to recall that, of course, a finished color copy in practice is always worse than the original, since it is almost impossible for the printer to accurately reproduce the entire range of original colors. In addition, an important element in the operation of any printer is the ability to provide high-quality halftone transmission. Problematic for this task in some cases is the inability of the printer to provide a uniform color fill in the entire brightness range. Usually areas of very light tone become the most problematic. In color printing, black is formed by mixing RGB colors, and the end result is not always satisfactory due to their imbalance. Another aspect of obtaining a high-quality image on paper is the resolution of the printer, which allows for the correct transmission of the smallest details. Many modern printers have a very high print density declared by manufacturers, which in practice does not always have a direct relationship with the real physical resolution, and the true state of affairs can only be found out during testing.
After we have considered the problems that arise when trying to achieve maximum print quality, it's time to choose ways to specifically implement the task before us.
The resulting prints are evaluated subjectively and objectively. The first method is based on the traditional visual method, which allows you to identify flaws visible to the naked eye. The second method is based on a more accurate and unbiased assessment of print quality. It consists in the fact that the printed test images are scanned on a reference scanner and converted into digital form. Further, with the help of special software, RGB indicators are taken from special "plates", and the degree of deviation in color characteristics from the original image is determined. In order to take into account the degree of error in the results introduced by the scanner itself, it is calibrated before testing using a proprietary Kodak Q-60 color target.
The above methods for evaluating print quality are fully applicable to test images of color printing. If only black ink is used for printing, the procedure for testing prints is somewhat simplified due to the fact that there is no need to study color characteristics.

Print speed

Print speed is indicated in the documentation for their printers by all manufacturers. The data given in the specifications refer to various modes of operation and are expressed in the number of pages printed per minute. However, not all so simple. In theory, if manufacturers have a unified approach to determining speed for all models, the numbers should be quite correct, but as you can imagine, there is no certainty that all companies use the same reference documents when determining print speed. . In order to compare printers from different companies in terms of print speed, it is still better to conduct your own testing. In this case, we use the same templates to determine the performance of all models, regardless of their belonging to a particular company, and we can make a reasonable comparison between them in this indicator.
To determine the print speed, we will use three pre-prepared electronic layouts printed on A4 sheets. The first of the templates is one page of text. The second layout consists of a combination of text and color graphics. In the first two cases, standard office paper (80 g/m^2) is used for printing. As the third layout, a color test image prepared by us is used, printed on photographic paper. best quality recommended by the manufacturer. The print mode in this case is selected with the highest possible density. The print time in all cases is fixed from the moment the Print command is issued until the sheet exits the tray.

Basic Tests

The list of basic tests includes those that later allow you to compare the quality and speed of printing of any printer models when they perform the most typical functions. For ease of comparison of final results, A3 and A4 printers use the same paper size. List of basic tests:

Test for the quality (speed) of color printing (A4 office and photo paper). The TF1 file is used (description of the files used below).
Monochrome print quality test (A4 office paper). A TF3 file is being used.
Monochrome print speed test (text, A4 office paper). The file is TF4.
Mixed print speed test (b/w text/color graphics, A4 office paper). The file is TF5.
Monochrome print resolution test (A4 office paper). The file is TF2.
Color print resolution test (A4 photo paper). The file is TF2.
Test for moisture resistance of ink on paper after the print has dried (moist cotton wool).

Additional tests

In addition to the above basic tests for quality and print speed, based on the study of the ability of printers to perform their main functions, it is possible to conduct additional tests based on the specific capabilities of specific models. We are talking about the fact that some printers allow you to print on CDs, roll paper, media of increased thickness, etc. etc. Additional tests allow you to evaluate the quality of such functions. The advisability of conducting additional tests will be decided based on the results of studying the characteristics of the printers that were tested.

Test procedure notes

Now about how the testing itself is carried out. Before it starts, the printer heads are calibrated. If certain printer models require the installation of an additional cartridge to obtain a photorealistic image, then a similar step is taken. The print mode is made with the "default" settings, in the absence of any comments in the text. The final test parameters are selected depending on the specific characteristics of the devices under consideration.

Test template files

TF1 file

In order to determine the ability of printers to perform well color printing, a special target was created. It contains several color and one black-and-white artistic image, serving for a subjective assessment of quality.
In addition, the target has a rectangle with a black gradient fill from 0 to 100 percent, as well as a seven-color plate with "steps" of varying intensity and known RGB values. With their help, you can objectively assess the degree of correctness of the color reproduction of printers.

TF2 file

This test file in PDF format is designed to determine the resolution of printers. The USAF 1951 test image can be used to determine printer resolution. On this target there are several groups, each consisting of six elements. The elements in each group are progressively reduced and numbered from one to six. Each element in the group is represented by two triplets of rectangles arranged vertically and horizontally. Each new group of elements is smaller in size than the previous one. The group nesting level is quite large and allows you to find out the maximum print resolution that the printer is capable of.

TF3 file

A doc-format file designed to determine the quality of monochrome text printing consists of several dozen lines of font of various sizes and styles, which also allows you to determine, to some extent, the maximum resolution.

TF4 file

This template is designed to determine the speed of monochrome text printing. A doc-format file contains one page of text in 10 point Times New Roman font, regular font, single line spacing.

TF5 file

In order to determine the printing speed of mixed documents (monochrome text/color graphics), a file in doc format is used. It contains text in 10 point Times New Roman font, regular font, single line spacing, and two color images (diagrams).

Evaluation of the quality of color reproduction based on objective indicators

When evaluating the color rendering quality of a printer, we will to some extent adhere to the principles of the methodological approach described in the article. about testing scanners.
The image of the target printed on the printer (TF1 file) digitized after scanning in color mode with the optical resolution of the scanner is used to determine the RGB color components at certain points using special programs, for example, Adobe Photoshop. To do this, the results are taken on all eleven "sites" of different brightness of seven color "rulers": Red, Green, Blue, Black, Yellow, Magenta, Cyan.
Further, all the data obtained for each control point from the scanned image are entered into a special table.
Based on the results for all seven colors, the integral coefficient of correctness of the reproduction of original colors by the printer is determined. It is calculated as the sum of the modulo difference between the color component (RGB) values of each of the control points in the scanned image and the reference file, then divided by seventy-seven.

The lowest value obtained as a result of calculations will be a sign of the most accurate reproduction of the color palette of the original by the printer among those who took part in the test. Note that our proposed indicator is only suitable for comparative analysis color rendering quality between models and cannot be an absolute assessment.

Color balance and midtone quality

Based on the measured RGB values of the black gradient rectangle, a graph is plotted that reflects the quality of the printer's performance of this procedure. The x-axis represents the distance expressed in pixels, and the y-axis represents the RGB values of the pixels.

The final picture in the case close to ideal looks approximately the same as can be seen on the graph. The lines from all three black RGB components merge into a single whole, and the absence of dips and peaks indicates their balance. The desired range of color component values (RGB) should be between 0 and 255.

We will consider our methodology as a basic document available for changes and development as it is applied in practice.

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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 items 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 ink for printing home photos, then the first two elements of the test page will be enough for you, but if you use ink for professional commercial photo printing, then the test page should 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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