Proscale: a fast new way to measure subjective print and paper quality

We describe Proscale, a computer-based research technique for obtaining fast, efficient judgments of paper and print quality from as many as 70 samples by as many as 50 observers. Proscale uses an established psychological judgment technique called magnitude estimation scaling (MES), and adds the new feature of simultaneous comparison of all of the samples by each observer. Using Proscale, observers can efficiently compare many more samples than with the traditional all-pairs comparison technique. Proscale also includes instructions and software for carrying out multidimensional scaling (MDS), a procedure that allows the user to estimate the number of independent subjective criteria on which the samples have been judged for similarity.