The overall rating of the multifunctional devices is calculated based on six categories. The quality of the print and scan units each make up 25 percent of the overall rating. Ergonomic design and features each account for 20 percent of the overall grade. The printing costs category weighs in at ten percent.

Performance Of The Individual Components

The print rating takes into account print quality and speed. The testers evaluate the multifunctional devices on the basis of the Dr. Grauert test pattern, two test pages and a printout with 16 color fields. A SpectroScan measuring tool is used to check the printouts for color trueness. Color transitions, accuracy of detail, contrast and brightness must be considered just as much as printing costs.

The scanner is judged by scan quality and speed. Color rendering is checked by reading scanned color fields as RGB values in Photoshop and comparing them with the reference values. The lab judges both the speed and the supplied software based on OCR text recognition and the scan of a photo page.

Package Contents And Ergonomics

Features and ergonomic design each make up 20 percent of the overall rating. Important aspects include a simple installation routine, intuitive software handling, the arrangement and use of function keys, and operating noise.

CorelDraw's test page farbtest.cdr determines the quality of the printouts.