Printtimedian

Printtimedian is a statistical measure used in printing and manufacturing analytics to describe the central tendency of individual print times within a batch. It is defined as the median of the times required to complete each printed item in a job, from the start of processing to the item exiting the printer or finishing stage. The metric helps assess typical printing speed and enables comparisons of production efficiency across machines, configurations, or shifts. Because it relies on the median, printtimedian is less sensitive to extreme outliers than the mean.

Calculation: To compute printtimedian, collect the times t1 through tn for each item, sort them in ascending order, and select the middle value. If n is odd, the median is t[(n+1)/2]. If n is even, it is the average of t[n/2] and t[n/2 + 1].

Applications: It supports capacity planning, line balancing, scheduling, and performance benchmarking. Dashboards may display printtimedian along with range and percentile metrics to summarize a production line’s speed profile. It can be computed for a single printer, a production cell, or across multiple machines for comparison.

Variants and scope: Some workflows include or exclude setup time, changeovers, or post-processing depending on the intended measurement. Clearly defining the scope, time unit, and whether the measure is per page, per item, or per job is essential for meaningful comparison.

Limitations: Printtimedian does not capture intrajob variability or idle time, and it can be affected by sample size and job mix. External factors such as material quality or machine maintenance may influence the results. Related metrics include median absolute deviation and percentile-based performance measures.