Printed dots and lines (edges) are the basic elements of printed output, and the quality attributes of these elements directly affect the visually perceived quality of a printed image. The use of commercially available devices designed to provide quantitative measurements of these elements would enable the industry to make and communicate performance comparisons between output systems. Two such measurement systems, the ImageXpert and the QEA personal Image Analysis System, will be evaluated for measuring absolute or perfect targets as well as ‘real world’ or imperfect targets.