ISO 12653-3:2014

Electronic imaging - Test target for scanning of office documents - Part 3: Test target for use in lower resolution applications

ISO 12653-3:2014 specifies a test target for assessing the consistency of the output quality over time from lower resolution reflection scanning systems. It is applicable to assessing the output quality of black-and-white and colour scanners used for black-and-white or colour office documents, with or without half tone.

Imagerie électronique — Cible d'essai pour le scanning en noir et blanc des documents de bureau — Partie 3: Applications à plus faible résolution

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 25-Feb-2014
• ICS: 37.080 - Document imaging applications
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 171/SC 1 - Quality, preservation and integrity of information
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 171/SC 1 - Quality, preservation and integrity of information
• Current Stage: 9093 - International Standard confirmed
• Start Date: 10-Jan-2025
• Completion Date: 13-Dec-2025

Overview

ISO 12653-3:2014 - Electronic imaging - Test target for scanning of office documents (Part 3) specifies a printed test target and associated procedures for assessing the consistency of output quality from lower-resolution reflection scanning systems (configured to scan up to 300 dpi). It applies to black‑and‑white, greyscale and colour office document scanners (with or without half‑tone reproduction) and is intended to help operators set up scanners, monitor quality over time, and compare equivalent systems.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Scope & purpose
  • Designed for reflection (paper) documents scanned at up to 300 dpi; not for transparent/translucent originals.
  • Target must include the legend “FOR USE AT UP TO 300 dpi ONLY.”
• Test target design
  • Full‑page (typical A4) on a white opaque glossy base.
  • Elements are arranged in areas A–P and include:
    • Frame and alignment arrows (Area A, P).
    • Diagonal scale, concentric circles and Pestrecov star for spatial-frequency evaluation (Area B, C).
    • Character sets per ISO 446 and various type styles/sizes, including very small characters (Areas D, E).
    • Resolution charts (ISO No.2) and ladder patterns with specified frequencies (e.g., 1.8, 2.5, 3.6 lines/mm; ISO No.2 charts 2.0–7.1 lp/mm) (Areas F, N).
    • Half‑tone wedges and grey scales in CMYK and greys (Areas K, M, L), with density steps and specified screen sizes (e.g., 3.3 and 6.9 lines/mm).
    • Uniform density fields (Area H - minimum density 1.2 measured per ISO 5‑4), background area for border testing (Area J), and a colour image (Area O).
• Procedures
  • Tests are run under normal operational conditions after warm‑up and any manufacturer calibration.
  • Scanning must use the normal enhancement/compression settings; revalidation recommended after software changes.
  • Targets may be single‑ or double‑sided for duplex scanners (identical designs both sides).
• Evaluation
  • The target is designed to reveal the point of failure for lower‑resolution scanners so users can determine acceptable document characteristics and limits.

Applications and users

Who benefits:

• Scanner manufacturers and test labs - product validation and acceptance testing.
• IT and imaging/records management teams - routine quality assurance and scanner calibration.
• Procurement and service engineers - comparing equivalent systems and maintaining consistent scan quality. Use cases:
• Initial system setup and tuning.
• Periodic QA to monitor drift or degradation in scanner performance.
• Acceptance testing after maintenance or software changes.

Related standards

• ISO 12653‑1: Characteristics
• ISO 12653‑2: Method of use
• ISO 5‑4: Density measurements (reflection)
• ISO 446 and ISO 3334: Character and resolution test charts

Keywords: ISO 12653-3:2014, electronic imaging, test target, document scanner testing, 300 dpi, scan quality, half-tone, ISO standards, scanner QA.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 12653-3
First edition
2014-04-01
Electronic imaging — Test target for
scanning of office documents —
Part 3:
Test target for use in lower resolution
applications
Imagerie électronique — Cible d’essai pour le scanning en noir et
blanc des documents de bureau —
Partie 3: Applications à plus faible résolution
Reference number
©
ISO 2014
© ISO 2014
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior
written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of
the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
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Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Uses of this part of ISO 12653 . 2
4.1 General . 2
4.2 Factors affecting quality . 2
5 Test target . 2
5.1 General . 2
5.2 Description of the test elements . 2
5.3 Base . 6
5.4 Test target for duplex scanners . 7
6 Procedures . 7
6.1 Initial system set-up . 7
6.2 Use of image enhancement and compression . 7
6.3 Test target scanning . 7
6.4 Internal test systems . 7
6.5 Frequency . 7
7 Evaluation of the results . 7
7.1 Evaluation . 7
7.2 Screen resolution . 8
8 Test method . 8
8.1 Test elements . 8
8.2 Test procedures . 8
Bibliography .20
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
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committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
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electrotechnical standardization.
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described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents 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).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
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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).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical Barriers
to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 171, Document management applications,
Subcommittee SC 1, Quality.
ISO 12653 consists of the following parts, under the general title Electronic imaging — Test target for
scanning of office documents:
— Part 1: Characteristics
— Part 2: Method of use
— Part 3: Test target for use in lower resolution applications
iv © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

Introduction
This part of ISO 12653 describes procedures for evaluating the quality of output from office document
scanning systems that are set to scan documents up to 300 dpi. The systems can be used to scan in black
and white, in greyscale, or in colour.
Test charts and targets already exist for micrographics and facsimile transmission but they are specific
to these said fields and do not meet the needs of the users of document scanning systems.
ISO 12653-1 specifies a test target for use in general scanning systems, to enable their performance
to be evaluated and to establish performance limits of the systems. Its method of use is specified in
ISO 12653-2.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 12653-3:2014(E)
Electronic imaging — Test target for scanning of office
documents —
Part 3:
Test target for use in lower resolution applications
1 Scope
This part of ISO 12653 specifies a test target for assessing the consistency of the output quality over
time from lower resolution reflection scanning systems.
It is applicable to assessing the output quality of black-and-white and colour scanners used for black-
and-white or colour office documents, with or without half tone.
It does not apply to scanners used for the scanning of transparent or translucent documents.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 5-4:2009, Photography and graphic technology — Density measurements — Part 4: Geometric
conditions for reflection density.
ISO 446:2004, Micrographics — ISO character and ISO test chart No. 1 — Description and use.
ISO 3334:2006, Micrographics — ISO resolution test chart No 2 — Description and use.
ISO 12653-1:2000, Electronic imaging — Test target for the black-and-white scanning of office documents —
Part 1: Characteristics.
ISO 12653-2:2000, Electronic imaging — Test target for the black-and-white scanning of office documents —
Part 2: Method of use.
ISO 12653-2:2000 / Cor:1:2002
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 12651 and the following apply.
3.1
test element
pattern represented on a target
EXAMPLE Millimetre scale, grey scale, circle.
3.2
continuous tone
tonal variation in a document represented by areas of different density
3.3
lower resolution application
scanning system that is configured to scan up to 300 dpi
4 Uses of this part of ISO 12653
4.1 General
The method described in Clause 8 of this part of ISO 12653 for assessing the output quality of office
document scanners (both black-and-white and colour) can be used in the following:
— to initially set up the system to yield satisfactory images;
— to check for consistent quality;
— to check that equivalent performance is being obtained from another system.
If the whole system is checked, from input to output, the results obtained can vary depending on the
different items of equipment used. For example, one visual display unit screen can be poorly set up,
giving worse quality than a well set up screen. It is thus important to establish the parts of the system
on which to perform the tests. If tests of other parts of the system are required, then the tests should be
repeated as appropriate.
The regular use of these procedures should enable a given level of quality to be maintained. The method
is intended
— to enable the operator to check that the scanner is correctly set up,
— to inform the operator of the capabilities and limits of the scanner,
— to enable the user to monitor image quality over a period of time, and
— to enable the user to draw up quality assessment procedures.
4.2 Factors affecting quality
Factors which affect the quality achieved by a document scanning system are
— physical scanning irregularities,
— uniformity of exposure,
— chromatic sensitivity of the photosensing unit,
— contrast,
— threshold setting,
— reproduction of half-tones,
— resolution, and
— scale.
5 Test target
5.1 General
The black and white and colour test targets specified in this part of ISO 12653 include characters and
graphics as test elements.
5.2 Description of the test elements
The test target shall comprise of the following display elements, arranged as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
2 © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

The test target shall include the words “FOR USE AT UP TO 300 dpi ONLY”.
The test elements on the targets should be of such quality that scanners being assessed reach a point of
failure. Determination of this point will enable the user to ascertain the characteristics of documents
that are unlikely to produce an acceptable image.
NOTE The sample layout of the test target shown in Figure 1 is a reduced reproduction. The test target would
normally fill a whole A4 size page.
The test elements as described below refer to the areas on the test target as indicated by the area letters
shown in Figure 2.
a) Area A:
— 10-mm–wide frame subdivided into 2 mm parallel lines which delineate the outer edge of the target;
— 12 arrow-shaped elements, three on each side of the target, whose outward points touch the outer
edges of the target.
b) Area B:
— diagonal line with two marks 300 mm apart designating the ends of the diagonal line and end marks
are equidistant from the centre of the target. (The line is blanked out where it crosses elements K
and N.)
c) Area C:
— three equally spaced concentric circles with a cross indicating their centre point;
— a Pestrecov star pattern, with associated areas indicating frequency in lines per millimetre at each
of the clear circles of the star, is composed of tapered black and white radial lines over 360° having
equal angular frequency and concentric white circles at frequencies equivalent to 1,8 lines per
millimetre, 2,5 lines per millimetre, and 3,6 lines per millimetre.
d) Area D:
— group of international standard characters (see ISO 446) having heights in the R20 series,
56 μm x 10 to 280 μm x 10.
e) Area E:
— selection of characters of various sizes and type styles, including at least one serif and at least one
sanserif font, with the smallest character size used smaller than the smallest character size normally
scanned by the system. The character size and type style used can be indicated on the test target.
Characters used can be Latin type and/or non-Latin type depending upon end-user requirements.
White characters on a black background can be added if appropriate.
f) Area F:
— two ISO No 2 test charts (see ISO 3334) having frequencies in the R20 series 2,0 to 7,1 line pairs/mm.
One test chart shall be aligned at 45° to the line of scanning.
g) Area G:
— two contiguous rectangles each divided into 10 zones; one rectangle shall have a white background
and the other shall have a black background. Each rectangle shall have lines of opposite polarity
progressively changing zone-by-zone in width from 0 to 0.5 mm. Where these lines cross zone
boundaries, they shall be of opposite polarity to the line. Line widths shall be indicated. One test
chart shall be aligned at 90° to the line of scanning, a second test chart shall be aligned to the
direction of scanning.
h) Area H:
— horizontal and vertical rectangular areas of uniform visual diffuse reflection density, measured in
accordance with ISO 5-4, minimum density 1,2.
i) Area I:
— selection of widely spaced small non-alphanumeric characters.
j) Area J:
— area of background (white) colour at least 30 mm x 30 mm, delineated by a black border of at least
1mm width.
k) Area K:
— four scales of half-tone wedges, each wedge ranging from 10 % to 100 % in increments of 10 %, one
each in cyan, magenta, yellow and black at screen size 6,9 lines/mm.
NOTE The grey scale range represents the percentage of black to white in the half-tone.
l) Area L:
— four areas of uniform continuous density, ranging in steps from 0,3 to 1,2 density.
m) Area M:
— two scales of half-tone grey wedges at different screen sizes, each wedge ranging from 0 % to 90 %
in increments of 10 % at screen sizes 3,3 and 6,9 lines/mm.
n) Area N:
— six ladder patterns, three in each direction. Ladder patterns shall be at 1,8, 2,5 and 3,6 lines/mm.
o) Area O:
— colour image with areas of varying colours.
p) Area P:
— arrows to indicate in which direction the target shall be placed in the scanner.
4 © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

Figure 1 — Sample layout of test target
Figure 2 — Layout of target area (see 4.2)
5.3 Base
The test target shall be made on a white opaque base with a glossy surface. The base size shall be that
typical of documents normally scanned (for example, A4).
6 © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

5.4 Test target for duplex scanners
The target described in 5.2 may be created as a single-sided or as a double- sided target. Where double
sided, there shall be identical designs on the two sides, except for an indication of the side (e.g. Front,
Back) displayed.
6 Pro
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