ISO 12653-3:2014

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 12653-3
First edition
2014-04-01
Electronic imaging — Test target for
scanning of office documents —
Part 3:
Test target for use in lower resolution
applications
Imagerie électronique — Cible d’essai pour le scanning en noir et
blanc des documents de bureau —
Partie 3: Applications à plus faible résolution
Reference number
©
ISO 2014
© ISO 2014
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ii © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Uses of this part of ISO 12653 . 2
4.1 General . 2
4.2 Factors affecting quality . 2
5 Test target . 2
5.1 General . 2
5.2 Description of the test elements . 2
5.3 Base . 6
5.4 Test target for duplex scanners . 7
6 Procedures . 7
6.1 Initial system set-up . 7
6.2 Use of image enhancement and compression . 7
6.3 Test target scanning . 7
6.4 Internal test systems . 7
6.5 Frequency . 7
7 Evaluation of the results . 7
7.1 Evaluation . 7
7.2 Screen resolution . 8
8 Test method . 8
8.1 Test elements . 8
8.2 Test procedures . 8
Bibliography .20
Foreword
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The committee responsible for this document is ISO/TC 171, Document management applications,
Subcommittee SC 1, Quality.
ISO 12653 consists of the following parts, under the general title Electronic imaging — Test target for
scanning of office documents:
— Part 1: Characteristics
— Part 2: Method of use
— Part 3: Test target for use in lower resolution applications
iv © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

Introduction
This part of ISO 12653 describes procedures for evaluating the quality of output from office document
scanning systems that are set to scan documents up to 300 dpi. The systems can be used to scan in black
and white, in greyscale, or in colour.
Test charts and targets already exist for micrographics and facsimile transmission but they are specific
to these said fields and do not meet the needs of the users of document scanning systems.
ISO 12653-1 specifies a test target for use in general scanning systems, to enable their performance
to be evaluated and to establish performance limits of the systems. Its method of use is specified in
ISO 12653-2.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 12653-3:2014(E)
Electronic imaging — Test target for scanning of office
documents —
Part 3:
Test target for use in lower resolution applications
1 Scope
This part of ISO 12653 specifies a test target for assessing the consistency of the output quality over
time from lower resolution reflection scanning systems.
It is applicable to assessing the output quality of black-and-white and colour scanners used for black-
and-white or colour office documents, with or without half tone.
It does not apply to scanners used for the scanning of transparent or translucent documents.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 5-4:2009, Photography and graphic technology — Density measurements — Part 4: Geometric
conditions for reflection density.
ISO 446:2004, Micrographics — ISO character and ISO test chart No. 1 — Description and use.
ISO 3334:2006, Micrographics — ISO resolution test chart No 2 — Description and use.
ISO 12653-1:2000, Electronic imaging — Test target for the black-and-white scanning of office documents —
Part 1: Characteristics.
ISO 12653-2:2000, Electronic imaging — Test target for the black-and-white scanning of office documents —
Part 2: Method of use.
ISO 12653-2:2000 / Cor:1:2002
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 12651 and the following apply.
3.1
test element
pattern represented on a target
EXAMPLE Millimetre scale, grey scale, circle.
3.2
continuous tone
tonal variation in a document represented by areas of different density
3.3
lower resolution application
scanning system that is configured to scan up to 300 dpi
4 Uses of this part of ISO 12653
4.1 General
The method described in Clause 8 of this part of ISO 12653 for assessing the output quality of office
document scanners (both black-and-white and colour) can be used in the following:
— to initially set up the system to yield satisfactory images;
— to check for consistent quality;
— to check that equivalent performance is being obtained from another system.
If the whole system is checked, from input to output, the results obtained can vary depending on the
different items of equipment used. For example, one visual display unit screen can be poorly set up,
giving worse quality than a well set up screen. It is thus important to establish the parts of the system
on which to perform the tests. If tests of other parts of the system are required, then the tests should be
repeated as appropriate.
The regular use of these procedures should enable a given level of quality to be maintained. The method
is intended
— to enable the operator to check that the scanner is correctly set up,
— to inform the operator of the capabilities and limits of the scanner,
— to enable the user to monitor image quality over a period of time, and
— to enable the user to draw up quality assessment procedures.
4.2 Factors affecting quality
Factors which affect the quality achieved by a document scanning system are
— physical scanning irregularities,
— uniformity of exposure,
— chromatic sensitivity of the photosensing unit,
— contrast,
— threshold setting,
— reproduction of half-tones,
— resolution, and
— scale.
5 Test target
5.1 General
The black and white and colour test targets specified in this part of ISO 12653 include characters and
graphics as test elements.
5.2 Description of the test elements
The test target shall comprise of the following display elements, arranged as shown in Figures 1 and 2.
2 © ISO 2014 – All rights reserved

The test target shall include the words “FOR USE AT UP TO 300 dpi ONLY”.
The test elements on the targets should be of such quality that scanners being assessed reach a point of
failure. Determination of this point will enable the user to ascertain the characteristics of documents
that are unlikely to produce an acceptable image.
NOTE The sample layout of the test target shown in Figure 1 is a reduced reproduction. The test target would
normally fill a whole A4 size page.
The test elements as described below refer to the areas on the test target as indicated by the area letters
shown in Figure 2.
a) Area A:
— 10-mm–wide frame subdivided into 2 mm parallel lines which delineate the outer edge of the target;
— 12 arrow-shaped elements, three on each side of the target, whose outward points touch the outer
edges of the target.
b) Area B:
— diagonal line with two marks 300 mm apart designating the ends of the diagonal line and end marks
are equidistant from the centre of the target. (The line is blanked out where it crosses elements K
and N.)
c) Area C:
— three equally spaced concen
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