A method for adaptively matching print quality and performance in a host based printing system including a host computer connected to a printer via an interface. The method includes the steps of: determining a print process time corresponding to an amount of time for a page to print based on current printer settings of the printer; determining a quantity of data to be transferred from the host computer to the printer; determining a data transfer time corresponding to an amount of time required to transfer the quantity of data from the host computer to the printer via the interface; comparing the print process time to the data transfer time to determine an amount of time that can be used by the printer to improve print quality; and determining optimum printer settings for the printer based at least in part on the amount of time determined in the comparing step.