A Comprehensive Tool for Analysis & Benchmarking of Digital Printers

 Melville, NY, 28 November 2012 — The SpencerLab Digital Color Laboratory is excited to announce the latest update to the SpencerLab Printer Test Suite. The update is available to current licensees for immediate access at www.spencerlab.com/MySpencerLab at no charge as part of their annual subscription. For those wishing to become a licensee, and those needing site license renewals, please contact SpencerLab at suite@spencer.com for information.

 This latest update, version 4.5, provides an expanded level of testing capabilities covering additional test objectives, target markets, and color options; and continues SpencerLab’s commitment to providing a comprehensive tool for Print Quality analysis and Benchmarking digital printing – an invaluable resource for digital print providers and major users.

 New features and enhancements in the latest version of the SpencerLab Printer Test Suite include:

     ◊ Additional Test Files, Target Markets, Color Options:

         • SpencerLab Reliability Suite – a set of test files suitable for testing reliability of consumables

            and print system components

         • CAD Target Market – a set of test files suitable for testing line drawing, engineering design 

            and 3-D rendition capabilities of print systems

         • Clear Coat – a set of test files to facilitate clear coat/ink rendition of capable print systems

     ◊ File update:

         • K Blends – regenerated from the PostScript original to include SpencerLAB logo in reverse

 ''As printing continues to evolve and grow, we have identified additional test metrics and developed associated test files that facilitate those measurements and analyses,'' said David Spencer, President and CEO of SpencerLab. ''Since the Suite 4.1 version update SpencerLab has continued to accommodate clients’ needs and feedback and to provide up-to-date evaluation tools.''

 The SpencerLab Printer Test Suite consists of over three gigabytes of data, includes 100 test files (in over 200 adaptations, printing over 510 pages), and covers the full breadth of market segments, including: Consumer, SOHO/SMB, Office, Enterprise, Photographic, Graphic Arts, Large Format and Production. The Suite has become a printing industry standard for print and image quality analysis. Test files include monochrome (black-and-white) as well as color; color-managed RGB and CMYK; PostScript, PDF, and application formats; output sizes ranging from 4x6'' through large format; and both U.S. and international page sizes.

 Availability

 The version 4.5 update is immediately available at no cost to current subscribers of the SpencerLab Printer Test Suite – the update is automatically available at their MySpencerLab login page. For information on how to become a site licensee of the SpencerLab Printer Test Suite, visit www.spencerlab.com or e-mail suite@spencer.com.

 Background

 Assisted by over a dozen key corporate sponsors, SpencerLab has shared its expertise in Print Quality, Throughput Speed Performance, Toner/Ink Yield and associated Cost-per-Print, and Usability and Reliability Analysis in the development and refinement of the SpencerLab Printer Test Suite. Since its 1990 introduction as the CHQF Test Suite, it has become a generally accepted de facto standard in facilitating evaluation of Print Quality. Test files in the SpencerLab Printer Test Suite complement recent ISO/IEC standards (SpencerLab participated in their development for nearly a decade). More than a dozen firms sponsored development of Version 4 in order to share access to meaningful measurement tools and standards. These have included Adobe, Canon, Eastman Kodak, EFI, Hewlett-Packard, Konica Minolta, Lexmark, Océ, Okidata, Samsung, Toshiba, and Xerox among others. Many of these sponsors as well as other major industry firms use the SpencerLab Printer Test Suite, our testing services, and/or our methodologies on a continuing basis.

 About the SpencerLab Digital Color Laboratory

 Celebrating more than two decades of industry service, Spencer & Associates Publishing, Ltd. has earned an international reputation for expertise in Color Print Quality and Consumable Yield/Cost-per-Print. SpencerLab Digital Color Laboratory, its independent test division, is recognized as a leader in unbiased, third-party digital image testing. Leading vendors also rely on SpencerLab to provide Throughput Speed Performance, Cost-per-Print, Reliability benchmarking, and Availability metrics for a wide variety of printing technologies – inkjet, laser/LED, thermal, and photographic, to name a few. SpencerLab provides leadership in quantitative and qualitative comparisons – test and evaluation services, focus group management, compliance certifications, benchmark test software/hardware, and custom consulting.For more information, please visit www.spencerlab.com.