User guide

Printer Throughput

Throughput is a measure of how many personalized cards a printer produces

within a period of time under ideal conditions. The specific throughput,

sometimes called speed, is posted on the Web site for the printer and on the

printer data sheet, which can be downloaded from the Web site.

For the manual-feed printer, the speed is provided in seconds to print a card. A

throughput test assumes that the print ribbon is in place, the card is already

placed in the input slot, and that no messages appear during the test.

For all other printers, throughput is measured by printing several sets of cards,

measuring the time from the beginning of the second card to the end of the set,

and then determining average cards-per-hour.

The “ideal conditions” used to measure throughput include:

• All printer supplies are installed and do not run out

• No errors or messages occur

• All cards are sent to print at the same time, so print jobs are in the print queue

waiting for the printer to be ready

• Simple card design

• Non-printing personalization, such as encoding a magnetic stripe or a smart

card, is not used

• A PC dedicated to card production with no applications other than ID

software running

The throughput numbers are designed to permit product comparison.

Throughput numbers should not be used to estimate the time it will take to print

your cards. In a production environment, supplies must be loaded, operators take

breaks, and the overall environment for printing cards affects how quickly cards

print. For example, if you are printing ID badges on demand, the operator will

retrieve or enter the name, take the photo, and enter any other data before

sending the card to print. The other tasks take longer than printing the card, and

so will determine the throughput for the entire system.