ISO/IEC PRF 24734

Information technology -- Office equipment -- Method for measuring digital printing productivity

Technologies de l'information -- Équipements de bureau -- Méthode de mesure de la productivité d'impression numérique

Standards Content (sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 24734
Third edition
Information technology — Office
equipment — Method for measuring
digital printing productivity
Technologies de l'information — Équipements de bureau — Méthode
de mesure de la productivité d'impression numérique
PROOF/ÉPREUVE
Reference number
ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
ISO/IEC 2021
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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
Contents Page

Foreword ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................v

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................vi

1 Scope ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1

2 Normative references ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

3 Terms and definitions ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

4 Test parameters and conditions ........................................................................................................................................................... 5

4.1 Test platform ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

4.2 Test platform test setup procedures .................................................................................................................................... 6

4.2.1 Initial platform setup ................................................................................................................................................... 6

4.2.2 Creation of disk image of test platform (optional) ............................................................................. 6

4.2.3 Initial test state .................................................................................................................................................................. 6

4.3 Printing device system setup ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

4.4 Printing device connection ........................................................................................................................................................... 8

4.5 Printing device condition ............................................................................................................................................................... 8

4.6 Sample size ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

4.7 Paper ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8

4.8 Maintenance .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

4.9 Test files, test suites and software applications ......................................................................................................... 8

4.10 Environment ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

4.11 Voltage ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

5 Test method ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

5.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

5.2 Test measurement procedure .................................................................................................................................................10

5.2.1 Test setup ............................................................................................................................................................................10

5.2.2 “1 set” test from ready..............................................................................................................................................11

5.2.3 “1 set + 30 seconds” test from ready ...........................................................................................................11

5.2.4 “1 set + 4 minutes” test from ready ..............................................................................................................12

5.3 Test method process .......................................................................................................................................................................13

5.3.1 Suggested flow chart .................................................................................................................................................13

5.3.2 ±5 % consistency criteria ......................................................................................................................................14

5.3.3 Estimating the set count .........................................................................................................................................15

5.4 Category tests ........................................................................................................................................................................................16

5.4.1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................................16

5.4.2 Office test .............................................................................................................................................................................16

5.4.3 Advertising and graphics test ............................................................................................................................18

5.5 Feature performance test ...........................................................................................................................................................20

5.5.1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................................20

5.5.2 Feature performance test procedure ..........................................................................................................21

5.6 Optional special tests ......................................................................................................................................................................22

6 Calculations and treatment of data ................................................................................................................................................22

6.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................................22

6.2 Category tests ........................................................................................................................................................................................22

6.2.1 “1 set” test from ready..............................................................................................................................................22

6.2.2 “1 set + 30 seconds” test from ready ...........................................................................................................23

6.2.3 “1 set + 4 minutes” test from ready ..............................................................................................................23

6.3 Feature performance test ...........................................................................................................................................................24

6.3.1 “1 set” test from ready..............................................................................................................................................24

6.3.2 “1 set + 30 seconds” test from ready ...........................................................................................................24

7 Presentation of results ................................................................................................................................................................................25

7.1 Sharing testing and reports ......................................................................................................................................................25

7.2 Category tests ........................................................................................................................................................................................26

7.2.1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................................26

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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)

7.2.2 Minimum declaration ...............................................................................................................................................26

7.2.3 Summary report ............................................................................................................................................................26

7.2.4 Full report ...........................................................................................................................................................................27

7.3 Advertising and graphics tests ...............................................................................................................................................30

7.3.1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................................30

7.3.2 Summary report ............................................................................................................................................................30

7.3.3 Full report ...........................................................................................................................................................................31

7.4 Feature performance tests .........................................................................................................................................................34

7.4.1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................................................................34

7.4.2 Summary report ............................................................................................................................................................34

7.4.3 Full report ...........................................................................................................................................................................35

Annex A (informative) Report presentation ..............................................................................................................................................36

Annex B (informative) Full detailed report example ........................................................................................................................44

Annex C (normative) Test suites ............................................................................................................................................................................48

Annex D (normative) Procedure to establish ready delay time ............................................................................................54

Annex E (normative) Test platform parameters ...................................................................................................................................57

Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................61

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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical

Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that

are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through

technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of

technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other

international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also

take part in the work.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are

described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for

the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the

editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives or www .iec .ch/ members

_experts/ refdocs).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject

of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent

rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the

Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents) or the IEC

list of patent declarations received (see patents.iec.ch).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not

constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and

expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the

World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www .iso .org/

iso/ foreword .html. In the IEC, see www .iec .ch/ understanding -standards.

This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,

Subcommittee SC 28, Office equipment.

This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO/IEC 24734:2014), which has been

technically revised. It also incorporates the Corrigenda ISO/IEC 24734:2014/Cor 1:2016.

The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— added a “Normative references” clause;

— annex structure was changed to be consistent with other productivity standards;

— “Terms and definitions” clause has been modified to add new definitions and removed definitions of

terms not used in the text;

— added a requirement that single copy output shall use the default “output order” setting and the

alternate “order output” is an optional test;

— added reporting of the “output order” setting as part of the summary and detailed reports since it

has a direct impact on the ability for results to be repeatable;
— added “ready delay time” requirement to “test measurement” procedures;
— added Annex D for the procedure to determine the “ready delay time”;
— changed paper weight to paper grammage in body and reporting.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A

complete listing of these bodies can be found at www .iso .org/ members .html and www .iec .ch/ national

-committees.
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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
Introduction

Many digital printing devices produce printed pages at a different rate than their nominal speed

when running with different modes (simplex, duplex, print quality modes), different substrate

grammage, system environments, applications and file content, and finishing options. The degree to

which a reduction in productivity is experienced depends significantly on multiple parameters of the

job workflow. The most dominant of the parameters of the job workflow are: system environment,

application, and job characteristics such as the number of pages in a set to be printed, single-sided or

double-sided output pages, quality mode, number of print sets to be produced, substrate grammage/size

used, and finishing options, and job content complexities such as monochrome vs. colour, text/vector

vs. raster, page scaling and colour conversion. The existing International Standard (ISO/IEC 10561)

only addresses printing throughput for Class 1 and Class 2 printers and, therefore is not suitable for

comparing colour printing devices or high-speed page-oriented printing devices with many finishing

options and connectivity configurations.

This document provides a general method for measuring the productivity when the above-mentioned

job workflow parameters for digital printing devices are taken into consideration. This document also

includes a suite of test files, test-platform (hardware and software) setup guidelines, and a procedure

to be used for measuring digital printing productivity. It allows manufacturers and buyers of digital

printing devices to describe the productivity of various digital printing devices with respect to

representative office usage patterns.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
Information technology — Office equipment — Method for
measuring digital printing productivity
1 Scope

This document specifies a method for measuring the digital printing productivity of digital printing

devices with various office applications and print job characteristics. This document is applicable

to digital printing devices, including single-function and multi-function devices, regardless of print

technology (e.g. inkjet, laser). Devices can be equipped with a range of paper feed and finishing options

either directly connected to the computer system or via a network. It is intended to be used for black and

white (B&W) as well as colour digital printing devices. It allows for the comparison of the productivity

of machines operating in various available modes (simplex, duplex, size of substrates, etc.) and office

applications when the test system environment, operating modes, and job mix for each machine are

held identical. This document includes test files, test setup procedure, test runtime procedure, and the

reporting requirements for the digital printing productivity measurements.

This document is not intended to be used for devices which are not able to print on a media size of

A4/8,5”x11” or for devices which are not able to collate multiple copies of a print.

This document is not intended to replace manufacturer's rated speeds.
2 Normative references

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content

constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For

undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO 536, Paper and board — Determination of grammage
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
category test

test pertaining to one of two separate categories: office category, and advertising and graphics category

Note 1 to entry: The office category test is used to test and report first set out time (FSOT) (3.10), estimated

saturated throughput (ESAT) (3.7) and effective throughput (EFTP) (3.6) using content from typical office

applications and the advertising and graphics category test is used to test and report FSOT, ESAT and EFTP using

applications and files representing more complexity, higher coverage and a higher ratio of image and graphic

content such as pictures, gradients and embedded elements.
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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
3.2
collate
collation

device’s ability to produce multiple hard copies of an electronic document in repeating original order

which may be achieved through either software features or via a hardware finishing device

EXAMPLE Repeating original order 1234, 1234, 1234, etc.

Note 1 to entry: Hard disk drive (HDD) is an example of a device feature that can be used to ensure proper output

order (3.19) by saving the images to disk then reading the saved pages to output in order.

3.3
default driver

printing device driver that is automatically selected as the default per the manufacturers’ installation

procedure
3.4
dual output order device

printing devices that support both original order output (3.18) and reverse order output (3.25)

3.5
duplex
duplex printing
two-sided printing
two-sided perfecting

printing where the printing device can make a number of prints with the printing being done to

both sides of the sheet
3.6
EFTP
effective throughput

rate at which a device produces pages measured from the initiation of the job through the complete exit

of the last page of the last test set (3.32)

Note 1 to entry: EFTP is expressed in images per minute (ipm) (3.13). EFTP can be affected by the digital processing

time of the test set as well as the run time of the test set.
3.7
ESAT
estimated saturated throughput

rate at which a device produces pages measured from the complete exit of the last page of the first test

set (3.32) through the complete exit of the last page of the last test set
Note 1 to entry: ESAT is expressed in images per minute (ipm) (3.13).
3.8
feature performance ratio

ratio of the device performance [such as first set out time (FSOT) (3.10) and estimated saturated

throughput (ESAT) (3.7)] with the subject feature ON versus the device default baseline performance

(without the subject feature ON)
3.9
feature performance test

optional test used to evaluate productivity changes with various printing and finishing

features enabled

Note 1 to entry: The feature performance test suite is run with default printing system settings to establish a

base line, and then with the selected feature (e.g. stapling) ON, for comparison.

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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
3.10
FSOT
first set out time

number of seconds between the initiation of the job to the complete exit of the last page of the first test

set (3.32)
3.11
full detailed report

presentation of information including machine setup and full measured test results

Note 1 to entry: An example of a full detailed report is shown in Annex B.
3.12
full report

presentation of results including the first set out time (FSOT) (3.10), effective throughput (EFTP)

(3.6) and estimated saturated throughput (ESAT) (3.7) values for each file tested for a given category or

feature test as well as the calculated averages for the overall FSOT, EFTP and ESAT values

3.13
ipm
images per minute

printing rate, excluding time to first page printed, as measured when producing pages in a continuous

print mode for one minute with a single static document using a nominal grammage substrate

Note 1 to entry: Nominal printing speed is expressed in pages per minute or images per minute.

3.14
initial installation state

state of the test platform (3.30) after the installation and configuration of the operating system and

applications but before the installation of unique software, e.g. print driver for the printing device

under test
3.15
interface

data transmission between the host and the printing device, such as a direct (via parallel, serial, USB,

Firewire, network or wireless) or an indirect (via network router/server) connection

3.16
LSOT
last set out time

number of seconds between the initiation of the job to the complete exit of the last page of the last test

set (3.32)
3.17
N-up
inclusion of N page images on a single side of a single sheet of paper
Note 1 to entry: N is typically 1, 2 or 4 original images.

EXAMPLE 2-up copy mode scans two originals and creates one sheet of paper with two originals on it.

3.18
original order output
in-order output

printed document output stack is in the same order as the original electronic document

Note 1 to entry: For a device that prints simplex (3.27) imaged media side up, the device would print pages in

reverse order 4321 for the output stack to be in the same order 1234 as the original electronic document when

viewed by the user.

Note 2 to entry: For a device that prints simplex imaged media side down, the device would print pages in order

1234 for the output stack to be in the same order as the original electronic document when viewed by the user.

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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
3.19
output order

order of printed pages in the output stack relative to the original electronic document

Note 1 to entry: The original document is ordered 1234, the printed output can be either 1234 or 4321.

3.20
PDL
page description language

commands and data structures that a printing system interprets to produce an intended print page image

3.21
performance test

test used to evaluate productivity by providing first set out time (FSOT) (3.10), effective throughput

(EFTP) (3.6) and estimated saturated throughput (ESAT) (3.7) without using any special feature or mode,

including both the simplex (3.27) printing mode and duplex (3.5) printing mode if available

3.22
RIP
raster image processor
component used in a printing system, which produces a bitmap
3.23
ready
ready state

state which a device typically enters after the exit of the last page of the last job and the device is in a

stable condition, but fully warmed up and prepared to operate

Note 1 to entry: While in the ready state, systems not directly involved with marking the media are allowed to be

in motion.
EXAMPLE Fans may still be spinning and all other motors stopped.
3.24
ready delay time

required delay time from the complete exit of the last page of the previous job to the start of the next job

3.25
reverse order output

printed document output stack is in the reverse order as the original electronic document

Note 1 to entry: For a device that prints simplex (3.27) imaged media side up, the device would print pages in

order 1234 for the output stack to be in the reverse order 4321 as the original electronic document when viewed

by the user.

Note 2 to entry: For a device that prints simplex imaged media side down, the device would print pages in reverse

order 4321 for the output stack to be in the reverse order 4321 as the original electronic document when viewed

by the user.
3.26
set count

total number of sets printed during a test run (3.31), with set count N, and then N (as in N test sets

(3.32)) × M (number of pages in one test file (3.29)) pages will be printed

Note 1 to entry: This is often referred to as copy count in the application or print driver setting.

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ISO/IEC 24734:2021(E)
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