Benchmarking a Printer
The goal of benchmarking is to quantify the capabilities of a printing device. Understanding the difference between precision (consistency) and accuracy (closeness to a reference) is essential before starting.
Step 1 — Establish Precision
Before evaluating accuracy, confirm the press is stable enough to be worth calibrating. An unstable press cannot reliably match any standard regardless of how well it is set up.
- Print the benchmark PDF for the device type
- Assess within-sheet uniformity (left/centre/right across the press sheet)
- Print a 1000-page test run and measure every 50–100 pages
- Evaluate E-Factor values against the production standard
Never accept an unstable press. Big variations between sheets or across the sheet must be investigated and corrected before any calibration or profiling work.
Step 2 — Evaluate Accuracy
Once precision is confirmed, evaluate how closely the press output matches the industry reference (e.g. GRACoL 2013 Coated, FOGRA 51, ISO Coated v2). Accuracy analysis includes:
- Gamut comparison against the reference profile
- Dot gain (TVI) curves evaluation
- G7 gray balance parameters
- Solid ink density and overprint color
Three Types of Accuracy Problems
1. Objective limitations
Gamut limits from substrates or inks; addressability limits of the device. These cannot be resolved by calibration — they define what the device is capable of.
2. Calibration / profiling / setup errors
Correctable through G7 calibration, TVI correction, ICC profiling, or linearisation. Most accuracy problems fall into this category.
3. Methodology errors
M-condition mismatch, instrument geometry mismatch, wet/dry measurement mix, or wrong color specification. These must be corrected before other analysis is meaningful.
