diff --git a/bench_test.go b/bench_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1afc29d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bench_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+package render
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// Benchmarks, because the question "would SIMD make this faster" cannot be
+// asked of a package with no baseline.
+//
+// This package had 43 test files and not one benchmark, and so do `reader`,
+// `ops`, `extract` and `opentype`. The only measured corner of the whole PDF
+// stack is `go-gfx/gfx`, which has 13 — and the only generated SIMD anywhere
+// in it is `gfx/resample`, for amd64, arm64 and s390x.
+//
+// ⛔ These say nothing on their own. A number from a machine under load is a
+// number about the load: take them with `-count=6` on a quiet machine and
+// compare with benchstat, never one run against one run.
+//
+// What each is for, in terms of where work could move:
+//
+//	Paths   gfx/vector's scanline rasteriser. No SIMD today.
+//	Text    opentype outline loading, then the same rasteriser.
+//	Images  unpacking samples, then gfx/resample — the one path that IS
+//	        already SIMD, so it is the control: a change there should show
+//	        here and nowhere else.
+//	DPI     the same page at three scales, which says whether cost follows
+//	        pixels or follows operators.
+
+// paths draws n filled and stroked rectangles, which is the shape a chart or a
+// table is made of.
+func pathsContent(n int) string {
+	var b strings.Builder
+	for i := range n {
+		x := float64(i%40) * 14
+		y := float64(i/40) * 14
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "%.1f %.1f 12 12 re f\n", x, y)
+		fmt.Fprintf(&b, "0.5 w %.1f %.1f 12 12 re S\n", x+1, y+1)
+	}
+	return b.String()
+}
+
+func BenchmarkPagePaths(b *testing.B) {
+	for _, n := range []int{100, 1000} {
+		b.Run(fmt.Sprint(n, "-rects"), func(b *testing.B) {
+			d := onePage(b, [4]float64{0, 0, 595, 842}, pathsContent(n), nil)
+			b.ResetTimer()
+			for b.Loop() {
+				if _, err := Page(d, 1, Options{DPI: 150}); err != nil {
+					b.Fatal(err)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// The same page at three scales. If the cost follows the pixel count rather
+// than the operator count, the work is in the rasteriser and not in the
+// content stream — which is the first thing worth knowing before moving any
+// of it into assembly.
+func BenchmarkPageByScale(b *testing.B) {
+	d := onePage(b, [4]float64{0, 0, 595, 842}, pathsContent(400), nil)
+	for _, dpi := range []float64{72, 150, 300} {
+		b.Run(fmt.Sprintf("%.0fdpi", dpi), func(b *testing.B) {
+			b.ResetTimer()
+			for b.Loop() {
+				if _, err := Page(d, 1, Options{DPI: dpi}); err != nil {
+					b.Fatal(err)
+				}
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// An empty page at the same size, so the fixed cost of opening, laying out and
+// allocating the raster is visible beside the drawing in every other
+// benchmark. A measurement with no floor under it reports the floor as if it
+// were the work.
+func BenchmarkPageEmpty(b *testing.B) {
+	d := onePage(b, [4]float64{0, 0, 595, 842}, "", nil)
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for b.Loop() {
+		if _, err := Page(d, 1, Options{DPI: 150}); err != nil {
+			b.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Many small fills with a colour change between each, which is the shape of a
+// shaded plot and the case where per-operator cost dominates per-pixel cost.
+func BenchmarkPageColourChanges(b *testing.B) {
+	var sb strings.Builder
+	for i := range 2000 {
+		g := float64(i%100) / 100
+		fmt.Fprintf(&sb, "%.2f %.2f %.2f rg %.1f %.1f 6 6 re f\n",
+			g, 1-g, g/2, float64(i%80)*7, float64(i/80)*7)
+	}
+	d := onePage(b, [4]float64{0, 0, 595, 842}, sb.String(), nil)
+	b.ResetTimer()
+	for b.Loop() {
+		if _, err := Page(d, 1, Options{DPI: 150}); err != nil {
+			b.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/build_test.go b/build_test.go
index 83c068f..d496292 100644
--- a/build_test.go
+++ b/build_test.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 // onePage builds a document of one page with the given content, media box and
 // extra page entries, so a test can say exactly what is on the paper and then
 // look at the pixels.
-func onePage(t *testing.T, box [4]float64, content string, extra reader.Dict) *reader.Document {
+func onePage(t testing.TB, box [4]float64, content string, extra reader.Dict) *reader.Document {
 	t.Helper()
 	w := reader.NewWriter("1.7")
 	pagesRef := w.Reserve()