What is A4 5% print coverage? Should it be calculated?

How many pages can one toner cartridge print? This question may seem simple, but it is actually very knowledgeable. Even when buying a printer, take this into consideration. Which brand has a lower printing cost? Which capacity is suitable for use? In the end, the answer will be: about 3500 pages/A4 5% coverage. So what does A4 5% coverage mean? Why do we often end up printing less than 3500 pages?

What does “A4 5% coverage” mean?

5% coverage means that after A4 paper is printed, the area of ​​the paper covered by toner or ink is 5% (black), 15% coverage (color, that is, red, yellow) , blue these three colors, each color reaches 5% coverage).

So, 5% coverage means that after printing, the area of ​​the entire paper covered by toner is 5%. But it does not mean how many words or pictures can be printed.

this 5% It is a standard jointly formulated by ISO (International Organization for Standardization)/IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). There are two standards: black and white and color. The standard printing test page is as follows:

Take A4 paper as an example. The area of ​​a piece of A4 paper is 623.7cm² (21*29.7cm), calculated at 5% coverage, that is, the coverage area is 623.7cm²X0.05=31.185cm². Of course, this is only in the case of printing a small amount of ordinary text. The shorter the printed text, the less the toner will cover the paper surface. If it is converted to printing pictures, the toner will cover the paper area. The amount of powder will also increase.

We can pick up a piece of A4 paper at hand, fold it horizontally into five equal parts, and then fold the folded paper in half towards the center line twice in a row. The size of the square that appears after folding is the area of ​​5% coverage, which is 1/20 of the A4 paper.