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From: henry@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU@utzoo.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.computers.laser-printers
Subject: Re: What's a duty cycle?
Message-ID: <8703100104.AA22039@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Mon, 9-Mar-87 20:04:14 EST
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Posted: Mon Mar  9 20:04:14 1987
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> > I.e., what does "duty cycle" measure?
> 
> I think that duty cycle is an estimate of how hard you can push your
> print engine and still have it perform optimally.  But the estimate is
> purposefully a pessimistic one....

Be careful.  Experience with the Canon LBP-CX engine does not generalize
to larger engines.  The LBP-CX is famous for tolerating gross violations
of its duty-cycle rating.  (There are people at LBL using it at TEN TIMES
the nominal 3000/month duty cycle.)  On larger print engines, the duty
cycle rating apparently must be taken very seriously or your maintenance
bill will skyrocket and reliability will nosedive.

				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry