BS ISO/IEC 29112:2018

What is ISO/IEC 29112 - Test pages and methods for measuring monochrome printer resolution about?   

ISO/IEC 29112 defines methods for the objective measurement of the print quality characteristics that contribute to the perceived resolution of reflection mode monochrome printed pages produced by digital electro-photographic printers.  

ISO/IEC 29112 prescribes the following: 

• Definitions of print quality characteristics that contribute to perceived resolution 
• Definitions of conformance methods to qualify a reflection scanner for use as a measuring device 
• Definitions of methods for measuring the contributing print quality characteristics using printed test pattern elements of the specified test pages and analyzing the resulting data to derive an assessment of printer resolution 
• Requirements for the report of a printer resolution assessment that define the context of the assessment and describe the results of the assessment
• A testing procedure based upon: 
• A well-documented printer and printing environment setup 
• Well-controlled printing of specified test pages, and 
• Subsequent measurement of print quality characteristics using reflection scans of test pattern elements on the printed test pages 

The measurement methods of ISO/IEC 29112 are derived from several existing techniques for the assessment of an imaging system's resolution characteristics. Each of these measurement methods is intended for the engineering evaluation of a printing system's perceived resolution and is not intended to be used for purposes of advertising claims. 

The methods of ISO/IEC 29112 are applicable only to monochrome prints produced in reflection mode by electro-photographic printing technology. ISO/IEC 29112 is intended for monochrome printers utilizing PostScript®1) interpreters capable of accepting PostScript and encapsulated PostScript (EPS) jobs.  

Who is ISO/IEC 29112 - Test pages and methods for measuring monochrome printer resolution for?  

ISO/IEC 29112 on measuring monochrome printer resolution is useful for:  

• Print buyers and brand owners 
• Printing production personnel 
• Printing organizations 
• Printing professionals, including auditors, consultants, etc  

Why should you use ISO/IEC 29112 - Test pages and methods for measuring monochrome printer resolution?   

The purpose of ISO/IEC 29112 is to provide a process for the objective measurement of print quality characteristics that contribute to perceived resolution in pages printed on paper or similar opaque materials using monochrome electro-photographic printing processes. 

Five print quality characteristics that meaningfully contribute to resolution are described in ISO/IEC 29112. These print quality characteristics are native addressability, effective addressability, edge blurriness, edge raggedness and the printing system spatial frequency response characteristic (SFR). 

An essential part of the development of ISO/IEC 29112 was verification that the specified measurement methods correlate well with perceived printer resolution (the ability of a digital printing system to depict fine spatial detail) and that the measurements are reproducible across laboratories and instruments. 

The steps in and results of this process to verify the utility of the measurement methods specified in ISO/IEC 29112 are presented in more detail in Annex F. The applicability of the measurement methods specified ISO/IEC 29112 could be expanded by undertaking similar verification processes with other printing technologies.