Testing: Essential Tests

Essential Test Suite

This test suite verifies that a printer is supported by Captdriver to a level that is deemed good enough for end-user daily use.

The printer needs not support all features supported and advertised by the manufacturer, but must reliably support essential features. Any further functionality is defined in printer-specific tests separately documented in this wiki.

Printers that pass all of the tests defined herein shall be registered with a WORKING level of support in prn_lbp2900.c. Printers that technically fail any test without affecting user experience may still be classified as WORKING by user ballot.

Testing Materials

Document Test Kit

Prepare a set of 7-page documents in the following sheet sizes:

Name	Height x Width	Comments
A4	210x297 mm, ~8.27x11.69 in
A5	148x210 mm, ~5.83x8.27 in
F4	~215.9x330 mm, ~8.5x13 in	South-East Asian F4/Folio/Foolscap/Long Bond, 'US-compatible' version. Supported only as a custom size.
JIS B5	182x257 mm, ~7.17x10.12 in	Japanese B5, distinct from ISO B5
Legal	~215.9x355.6 mm, 8.5x14 in
Letter	~215.9x279.4 mm, 8.5x11 in
SAC 16K	195x270 mm, ~7.68x10.63 in	Supported on printers made in the late 2000s onwards, use custom sizes if support is missing

• All documents must have a 5mm border set from each side of the page.

• Each page must have some form of identification to tell it apart from the others.

• The exact content of the page other than page identification and borders is up to the tester to decide. Keep ink coverage to the minimum necessary to run the test to reduce toner use.

Envelope Test Kit

Prepare a set of single-page documents in the following sheet sizes:

Name	Height x Width	Comments
C5	162x229 mm, 6.375x9 in
DL	110x220 mm, ~4.333x8.667 in
#10	105x241mm, 4.125x9.5 in	US Business Envelope

• All documents must have a 10mm border set from each side of the page.

• Testers are to decide the exact contents of the test pages apart from borders.

• Either real envelopes or improvised thick unfolded paper cut down to size may be used.

Colour Test Page

Prepare a single-page document in any one of the sizes of the Document Test Kit described above.

• The document must have ten swatches of at least 10x10mm

• Swatches must be spaced apart at least 5mm apart on all sides.

• Fill each square with one of the following colours:

Name	Cyan %	Magenta %	Yellow %	Black %
Cyan	100	0	0	0
Magenta	0	100	0	0
Yellow	0	0	100	0
Red	0	100	100	0
Green	100	0	100	0
Blue	100	100	0	0
Black	0	0	0	100
Grey 50%	0	0	0	50
Grey 25%	0	0	0	25
Grey 12.5%	0	0	0	12.5

All colours must be used exactly once. The exact arrangement of the test swatches on the page is up to the tester to decide.

Essential Tests

Testing procedures are described below and followed by a table of observations to make. Perform all testing procedures to the fullest extent possible, then record the observations on the table, along with CUPS and Captdriver version information.

The checklist is intended to be copied into test reports for each printer.

Tests for All Printers

Document Coverage Test

For each of the documents sizes in the Document Test Kit, print two successive pages.

Test	Sizes Passed	Sizes Failed	Comments
Page contents are centered on the page with 1mm precision
All contents are visible on page
Only two pages printed

Toner Save Mode Toggling Test

Print a single page from the Document Test Kit with Toner Save switched on, repeat with it switched off. Alternatively, toggle Toner Save when performing other tests, and observe the print results.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
Printout is lighter when Toner Save is on
Darkness returns to normal when Toner Save is off

Please also report unexpected problems and difficulties.

Minimum Print Speed Test

Observe the delay between pages, if any, when performing other multi-page tests.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
No pause between pages, or pause is no more than 0.5 seconds

For failed tests, please also report the sheet size used.

Envelope Coverage Test

For each of the documents in the Standard Envelope Kit, print the single page. This test may be performed on actual envelopes or unfolded paper cut down to the test sizes.

Test	Sizes Passed	Sizes Failed	Comments
Page contents are centred on the page with 1mm precision
All contents are visible on page
Only one page printed

Multi-page Document Test

Choose one size from the Document Test Kit most commonly used size in your region. Print all pages, or a selection of the pages. Optionally repeat the test with different page sizes.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
All selected pages printed only
Pages printed in correct order
No extra pages printed
Printer does not stop indefinitely between pages

Please also report the document size used in the test.

Single-page Document Test

For each size in the Document Test Kit, select and print one page.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
Selected page printed only
No extra pages printed
Printer does not stop indefinitely between pages

Please also report the document size used in the test.

Multiple Job Test

Choose one size from the Document Test kit, preferably the most commonly used in your region. Start a print job of one or more pages, then start another after the first job finishes. Repeat seven (7) times.

Successful completion of any other test, without having to restarting the printer or perform any other extra procedure before the test commenced, also counts as a successful job, so this test is exempted if seven other tests have passed.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
Seven (7) jobs launched in a row without additional user intervention
All selected pages printed only
No extra pages printed

Please also report the document size used in the test.

Cancel Test

Begin printing one or more pages any of the Document Test Kit, but cancel the job at different stages. Start another single-page job shortly afterwards, without doing anything else to the printer besides reloading paper.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
Print after cancelling before printer has begun printing
Print after cancelling when printer was printing a page
Print after cancelling when paper was out
Page contents correctly aligned all printed pages

Please also report the document size used in the test.

Out of Paper Resume Test

Print two or more pages from the Document Test Kit. Trigger an out-of-paper event, and attempt to resume the print job.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
Continue print job after paper runs out during a job
Continue print job after starting without paper
Selected pages printed only
Page contents correctly aligned on printed pages

Please also report the document size used in the test, and any anomalies such as extra and missing pages.

Tests for Duplex-Capable Printers

Enable two-sided printing where available. Print an even number of pages from the Document Test Kit.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
Printer is able to print on both sides
Orientation pages is the same as selected from the print settings

Please also report the document size used in the test.

Tests for Colour Printers

If the printer is capable of four-colour printing, print the Colour Test Page with the original driver, and repeat the print with Captdriver.

Test	Pass/Fail	Comments
Hues on colours are not too different
No observable gain or loss in lightness of colours

Extended Tests

Features not covered by the Essential Tests, such as high colour accuracy, multiple trays and transparency media handling, will be covered by printer-specific tests instead. These should be documented separately in the wiki.

References

Appendix B: Registered mediaOption Keywords. PostScript Printer Description File Format Specification. Version 4.3, 1996-04-09. Adobe Systems.

Paper Size. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_size. Accessed 2020-05-04.