Xerox Color 800i, Color 1000i, Color 800, Color 1000 FreeFlow Print Server Dry Ink Estimation

May 2012
702P00726

FreeFlow® Print Server

Dry Ink Estimation

©2012 Xerox Corporation. All rights reserved. XEROX® and XEROX and Design® are trademarks of Xerox Corporation in the United
States and/or other countries.

BR2455

Other company trademarks are also acknowledged.

Document Version: 1.1 (May 2012)

Contents

1 Estimation for a Job .............................................................................................. 1-1

Summary .................................................................................................................................................................. 1-1

Background ............................................................................................................................................................. 1-1

Workflow Scenarios ............................................................................................................................................. 1-1

Basic usage ................................................................................................................................................. 1-1

Description .............................................................................................................................................................. 1-2

Estimation Setup ...................................................................................................................................... 1-2

Estimation for a job ................................................................................................................................ 1-4

Estimation of a job in a Hold Queue .............................................................................................. 1-5

Toner Estimation for a Job in Reprint ............................................................................................ 1-7

Limitations/Considerations ............................................................................................................................. 1-7

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Dry Ink Estimation

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FreeFlow® Print Server

Dry Ink Estimation

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1 Estimation for a Job

Summary

The Xerox FreeFlow® Print Server 9.0 SP1 in a color system includes a new job operation called
Estimate Toner Usage, developed to generate an estimate of how much dry ink toner a job will
use. The toner usage is expressed as a percentage of bottles of toner used for a job. The
customer has the ability to enter or modify the expected yield for each dry ink. This feature
helps the Xerox Color Press customers understand how print job costs are impacted when the
Clear effects option is applied. If the Clear effects option is applied through Flood or Object job
programming, the operator has the control to adjust the Clear Level.

Background

Xerox Supplies sells dry ink in cartons. These cartons are not specified by weight or volume. They
are specified by the number of US Letter size impressions or prints that can be made from the
specific coverage area for the carton’s dry ink. For example, the Clear dry ink used for the Xerox
Color 800/1000 Press, 6R1479, has an approximate yield of 55,000 pages of US Letter size
impressions at 7.5 percentage of coverage area.

Workflow Scenarios

Basic usage

The System Administrator sets up a Held queue by setting the queue to Do Not Release Jobs.
The Process and Hold option must be enabled in Automatic Job Processing under the Queue
settings. In the queue process, held jobs can be estimated. The jobs are submitted to the queue
overnight. The next morning, when the operator selects one of the jobs and clicks the Estimate
Toner Usage operation, the system evaluates the RIP-ped images, makes calculations, and
displays the estimates. The estimates are saved in the Job Properties->Settings tab. Select the
new Toner Estimation button to access the estimates. The Estimate Toner Usage operation can
be done only for one job.

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Estimation for a Job

Description

Estimation Setup

The operator or administrator must pre-enter in the system the expected yield for each dry ink:
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black, and Clear by to enable the calculations. The Toner Estimation

Setup option in the Printer menu enables the user to enter the information for each color. The
Toner Estimation Setup window displays a table that lists the colors available on the system,

and allows the user to provide the information for each color in the type-in fields.

This Toner Estimation Setup window lists all the available dry inks. Enter the corresponding
values for each color and save. To view or modify values for each color do the following:

1. From the FreeFlow

The Toner Estimation Setup window opens.

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Dry Ink Estimation

® Print Server user interface, select Printer>Toner Estimation Setup.

Estimation for a Job

If the values are blank or need to be modified, then perform the following:

2. Right-click on a color to open the Hue Properties window.

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Dry Ink Estimation

Estimation for a Job

3. Enter the values for the corresponding color and click OK. The Toner Estimation Setup

window displays the added or modified values.

Estimation for a job

The operator can navigate to job > Estimate Toner Usage to calculate and display the Toner

Usage. This menu item is available only on jobs which are Paused, Held by Queue, or
Completed. Jobs that are previously RIPped and Held can also be estimated.

Use the Saved Job list or the Print From File option to estimate Saved Jobs in Fast Reprint
Format (FRF).

Jobs which have the Waiting for Printer or Printing statuses cannot be estimated. No active
jobs can be estimated.

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Dry Ink Estimation

Estimation for a Job

Estimation of a job in a Hold Queue

1. Submit the job to a Queue and set Release to No.
a. If the Hold Queue attribute: Automatic Job Processing is set to Process and Hold, then

proceed to step 3.

2. If the job has not yet been processed then right click on the job and select Process Job.

3. Right click on the job and select Estimate Toner Usage. The Toner Estimation window

opens with the estimated values for the toner.

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Estimation for a Job

4. Under Job Properties of the job that has been estimated, Toner Estimation is displayed in

the Settings Tab. After estimating the toner for the job, the same values reflect in this tab.

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Estimation for a Job

Toner Estimation for a Job in Reprint

Estimate the Toner Usage for a job using Reprint. However, the toner estimated values are not
stored in the Job Dictionary.

1. Navigate to the Saved Job list.

2. Right click on a job with an frf extension and select Estimate Toner Usage. The Toner

Estimation window opens with the estimated values for the toner.

Limitations/Considerations

• Jobs in the system that are previously RIP-ped through the Process Job operation can be

estimated.

• Use the Saved Job list or the Print From File option to estimate Saved Jobs in Fast Reprint

Format.

• Before estimating toner usage for jobs, the Toner Estimation Setup should be completed.

• The toner estimation does not take the following into account:

• User TRCs/Color Balance controls, which are applied while printing.

• Image shift and other print time image manipulations which may move image content off

the printable page.

What this tool does not do

• Allow the tool to be downloaded to a local computer.

• Provide information for any other product besides the Xerox Color Press because the

algorithms are customized to the product.

• Compute the cost of estimated dry ink usage.

• Track external variables that influence dry ink consumption.

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Estimation for a Job

• Process images at the same rate as the Xerox Color Press.

The results given by the Estimation Tool may not directly match the amount of dry ink used by a
specific Xerox Color Press. The tool algorithm assumes that the Xerox Color Press system is
operating within optimal specifications to estimate toner usage. The tool does not attempt to
predict variability in the amount of dry ink the Xerox Color Press delivers to a substrate.

For example, the amount of dry ink used is directly proportional to the set print density. So, if K
is set at a higher density, expect the amount of K dry ink used to be proportionally higher than
predicted by the tool. Inversely, if K is set at a lower density, expect that the amount of K dry ink
used to be proportionally lower than predicted by the tool. This is true for Cyan, Yellow, Black,
and Clear dry ink as well.

Factors affecting the results

The tool uses default settings of the Xerox Color Press to calculate the results. In addition to the
normal machine variation, other factors can impact the dry ink consumption of the Xerox Color
Press. The following factors are not accounted for during the calculation of the estimated usage:

• Print density compared to a nominal setting:

− Normal machine variation

− Environment–Temperature and humidity are factors to consider.

− Density setting

− Calibration

• Halftone screen used.

• Dry ink usage is predicted based on the content of the uploaded file and an assumption that

the printer is calibrated for the paper being used.

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Estimation for a Job

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