What Is Page Yield?

Page yield is the total number of pages that can be printed with a print cartridge. Printer manufacturers had used a variety of methodologies to measure cartridge yields. Now all the printer manufacturers work in conjunction with the ISO to create new standards for measuring page yield. On December 13, 2006, the ISO approved the new standard for inkjet (ISO)/IEC 24711) and color toner (ISO/IEC 19798) printer cartridge page yield measurements. These new standards compliment the ISO/IEC 19752 yield standard for monochrome toner cartridges published in June 2004.

Why Are Page Yield Standards Important?

These page yield standards will help you make more informed purchase decisions by objectively and accurately evaluating print cartridge yields. The new ISO standards for inkjet and toner cartridge yields 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.

How Are the Tests Performed?

The ISO/IEC 24711 and 19798 specifications stipulate that page yield is determined using a standard suite, printed in a controlled environment, with printer default settings. Because the printer environment can affect page yield, the testing environment is controlled at a temperature of 23.0C +/- 2.0C.

The test suite, specified in ISO/IEC 24712, is designed to work with either A4 or 8.5x11“ paper. The suite is a PDF file consisting of four typical customer pages and one diagnostic page is to be printed using the most recent version of a PDF reader.

How Are Page Yields Calculated?

The reported ISO page yield must be at or below the lower 90% confidence interval of the mean. If there are 9 cartridges tested, the maximum ISO page yield is calculated as follows: ISO Page Yield = Average page yield - (1.86 * (std dev of page yield / 3))

Notes:

1. Toner yield is based on printing at 5% coverage on A4/Letter sized paper.
2. Because we have no control over the many factors that determine the actual drum life, we cannot guarantee a minimum number of pages that will be printed by your drum.
3. Page yields based on ISO testing may not reflect what a customer will experience in everyday use. Actual yield may vary based on machine, paper type, temperature, humidity and actual prints.
4. All PDS and MSE toners are tested with ISO specifications and testing standards.