While buying a device like a printer, you need to be sure whether it is suitable and can handle your workload.
This can be gauged by looking at different specs of a printer and duty cycle is one of them.
It helps to determine the quality and work capacity of your printer and is an important factor to consider before buying.
In this article, we will see what duty cycle is, how it is measured, and how it can affect performance so you can choose the right printer for your needs.
A duty cycle of any device is its ability to handle the workload in a certain period of time.
The manufacturers either provide a daily duty cycle number or a monthly duty cycle.
In printers, printer duty cycle means the number of pages it can print in the given time frame i.e in a day or a month.
For example, if a printer offers a daily duty cycle of 1000 pages, that means it can easily print 1,000 pages in a day without breaking down, or causing any trouble like wear and tear.
So the duty cycle is the maximum number of output your device is designed to give you in a month.
Related: What Is Printer Spooling?
How is the Duty Cycle Measured?
The duty cycle of a product is measured during stress testing by the manufacturers.
It’s a part of the manufacturing process. The device is intentionally put through the workload to test its capacity of handling the workload.
It is pushed beyond its limits, often to the breaking point, to see how long it can perform without causing any troubles.
So if a printer duty cycle states that it can print a certain many pages that means during testing the printer easily managed to print the stipulated amount without any issue.
Related: What Is Screen Printing?
Can You Exceed the Printer Duty Cycle?
Now that you understand what is printer duty cycle, it is also important to understand what happens if you go beyond the duty cycle number or in other words: what happens if you overwork your printer?
While you can go beyond the stipulated duty cycle, know that it can cause several issues. While these may not be noticeable immediately, they can build up overtime.
One of the biggest issues is wear and tear. Overworking a machine beyond its capacity leads to wear and tear damage.
Wear and Tear Damage is a real cause for concern {courtesy: Wikipedia]
Secondly, this can cause heat damage. Any machine with physical moves parts creates friction. The higher or longer the friction is sustained, the more heat damage it can do.
All in all, in order to extend the longevity of your printer, it is important stay within the daily duty cycle limit.
Why is Duty Cycle Quoted?
Duty cycle is quoted for the buyer’s convenience so that they can have the idea about the capacity of their printer.
A home-based printer can have a monthly duty cycle of 8,000 pages. Obviously, this is something that you would NOT use in a large office group.
An office printer typically has a 250,000 monthly duty cycle.
Duty cycle is closely related to the quality, durability, and capacity of the printer.
You need to select the device that promises to handle your workload. So if your official routine requires about 30,000 pages per month, you need to select a printer that has a duty cycle equal to or better than that.
In the same way, if you are buying a printer for randomly printing a few pages at home, buying a printer with 30,000 pages duty cycle would be an overkill.
Enterprise Printers like “HP LaserJet M609x” can have a Duty Cycle of 300,000 per month
How to Estimate Your Workflow?
Individual work and official needs vary from one user to another. If you are a home user, you may not need to pay much attention to the duty cycle.
Few random prints like homework assignments, printing some useful information from the web, or photo prints of your last holidays are not going to affect your printer’s performance much.
But you need to be careful if it is for official needs. And it means all the more if you are running a printing press and need to print thousands of prints daily.
You can measure your printer per day or month by counting how many times you need to reload your paper tray within a day, week, or month.
So if you are loading the paper tray with 500 sheets, you can always count how many times you need to refill the printing tray.
Your office’s printing need may go up or down at certain times, so you need to consider that too.
You can evaluate your printing requirements against the printing output of your printer.
Should I Choose a Printer with a High Duty Cycle Than I Need?
Your printer should always offer a slightly higher duty cycle than your needs.
First, it’s not every day you buy a printer so you should estimate not your current requirements but leave some room for the future too.
There may be an increase in your production need in later months, so it is always better to take that future rise in consideration as well.
Secondly, it’s not a good idea to buy the printer promising the exact number you use.
The duty cycle is the limit your printer can be pushed. It is not a good idea to push it to its limits in routine. There should always be some margin left.
Is the Printer with a High Duty Cycle Expensive?
Yes, the duty cycle of a printer reflects its quality and performance and ALSO THE PRICE.
The devices with more expensive hardware work longer and have a heavy-duty cycle. They can cost more than an average printer with less expensive parts and low duty cycle.
How Can Duty Cycle be Confusing?
While you are looking for a printer, you may notice a low-cost printer offering thousands of pages per month.
Even an average laser printer offers 8,000 pages per month, and you may not need that volume of printing per month.
Duty cycle number is at manufacturer’s discretion. It can be inaccurate and should not be the only criterion to look for while selecting the printer.
There are no industry standards for the duty cycle. Manufacturers usually quote high volume printing. But there are some points that we need to understand.
Conclusion
Here we looked at a common question: What is Printer Duty Cycle?
In short, it is the number of pages that the printer can print in a given amount of time without deteriorating.
Basically, printer duty cycle can help you choose the printer, but you should not trust it blindly.
Often high quoted duty cycles can be misleading. You need to do your homework well and choose a trusted brand.
Also, to give your device a longer lifespan, leave a margin of 20-25% of a printer’s rated duty cycle. Pushing your printer to the upper limit each month may result in premature device wear.
Other specs like printer’s type, ink quality, and ink output should also be considered while buying.
Andrew White is the founder of TechGearoid, a leading technology review & information website that is designed to help consumers make better decisions when it comes to their IT purchases. As a specialist tech writer (nerd) with over 10 years of experience, he enjoys writing about everything there is to do with modern technology & the newest market innovations. When he isn’t providing value for his readers, he’s usually drinking coffee or at the beach. Andrew lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and family.