Print testing

For Civil Status records, the Paper and Writing Materials Decree sets specific requirements regarding durability. In the 1990s, a procedure was established for testing equipment used to produce Civil Status records, ensuring that the records remain preserved and legible after 100 years.

Nebest COT has been designated as an independent testing institute to perform these tests on behalf of printer manufacturers (Ministry of Justice circular dated December 14, 1997, no. 668307/97/6 and Evaluation of Ministerial Regulations Public Records Act, part 1/3 Advice Regulation on durability of archival records, The Hague, December 2006). Many printers, copiers, or multifunctionals have been tested, and certificates of suitability have been issued for many of them.

The current list of approved products can be found at the bottom of this page.

An approval applies only to the tested combination of machine, toner, and standard paper (the paper used by municipalities for records, being normal-1 paper, 120 g/m²). Experts decided at the time that the validity of an approval is 3 years. After this period, there is the possibility for an abbreviated re-inspection.

Closely related to the Paper and Writing Materials Decree is the Regulation on Durability of Archival Records, which applies to all archives of, among others, municipalities, water boards, regional police forces, and (semi-)governmental companies. This regulation sets requirements for paper, inks, and toners, and refers to the ISO 11798 standard. The Regulation is the implementation of the Public Records Act 1995. Under the Regulation, documents for archives must comply with ISO 11798, but an alternative may also be used for this purpose. In 2005, the Provincial Archive Inspections decided that copiers or printers that meet the requirements of the COT record printer inspection are also deemed to meet the requirements of ISO 11798.

The record printer test procedure (COT 94.3), the printer inspection, includes tests regarding resistance to pressure and UV light, smudge resistance, heat load, varying relative humidity load, mechanical resistance, and chemical resistance. The test conditions are rigorous. The pressure test, for example, involves a pressure of 100 kg/cm² for 14 days, which is equivalent to a stack of 10,000,000 A4 sheets (a tower of 1,100 meters). Further specifications for all tests in the printer inspection can be requested from Nebest-COT.