Background
In December 2006, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) body approved new standards for ink (ISO/IEC 24711) and color toner (ISO/IEC 19798) printer cartridge page yield measurements. These new standards complement the ISO/IEC 19752 yield standard for monochrome toner printer cartridges published in June 2004.
The new ISO standards for ink and color toner cartridge yields clearly define the key attributes that affect yield and apply robust statistical analysis so all manufacturers can utilize the same methodology when measuring yield. Until now, printer manufacturers have not been able to use a uniform methodology to measure cartridge yields.
Details of the ISO/IEC standards and on the test pages used to measure cartridge yields are available on the Web site www.iso.org/jtc1/sc28.
Why are page yield standards important?
Page yield is the total number of pages that can be printed with a print cartridge. Until now, printer manufacturers have used a variety of methodologies to measure cartridge yields. The new ISO page yield standards will help the consumer make more informed purchase decisions. These standards clearly define the key attributes that affect page yield and apply robust statistical analysis so all manufacturers can utilize the same methodology when measuring yield. Page yields based on ISO testing may not reflect what a customer will experience in everyday use.
How many cartridges and printers are used in the testing?
A minimum of nine cartridge or toner sets are tested until they reach end of life. This allows reliable estimates of the average predicted yield within statistically defined boundaries. The standards recommend attaining cartridges from a variety of manufacturing dates and locations for testing. A minimum of three cartridge or toner sets are tested on three different printers to avoid bias due to printer variability.
How do these standards work for 10x15 photos?
The ISO/IEC 24712 print suite is designed specifically for A4 or 8.5x11" paper. There are currently no ISO page yield specifications associated with 10x15 prints. A new ISO committee has been initiated to address this issue. It is estimated that a 10x15-page yield specification will be ratified in 2009.
Why isn't there a page yield listed for my specific printer?
Lexmark will publish the ISO page yields for ink and color toner on new products brought to market in 2007. Lexmark publishes the ISO page yields for mono toner laser printers introduced after 1999.
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