print quality test
Print Quality Test - Read the Pattern Before You Fix It
The useful part of a print quality test is not printing another page; it is knowing which visible pattern points to which next check.
| What you see | What the sheet can test | Go next |
|---|---|---|
| Missing short line elements in one color | Line continuity for that channel | CMYK channel test |
| Repeated horizontal light/dark bands | Banding across four tonal levels | Banding test |
| Whole print looks shifted, rotated or resized | Paper-relative geometry | Alignment test |
| One solid color is much weaker | Relative CMYK channel health | Faded output |
| Wet smear, transfer marks or rubbed ink | Not directly measured | Smearing checks |
| Fine text looks soft | No direct blur score | Blurry output checks |
Use one baseline and one retest
Print the same sheet with the same paper and print settings before and after one maintenance change. The analyzer stores the latest underlying metrics locally for the selected printer and page format so it can show a before/after comparison.
Four measurements, deliberately limited
- Line continuity: complete, partial, missing or uncertain controlled elements.
- Horizontal banding: repeatable density variation in known tonal fields.
- Geometry: scale, rotation and offset relative to the physical paper.
- Relative CMYK health: coarse channel weakness, not calibrated color accuracy.
Text sharpness, automated smear classification and laser drum/fuser diagnosis remain outside the current measurement scope.