There are a lot of variables when testing compression. Absolute values (as long as they are somewhere near reasonable) are not as important as the variation between cylinders.
If you want to compare two different engines, you need them at the same ambient temperature, same engine temperature, use the same procedure, crank at the same speed, and preferably use the same gauge, etc.
Air compression is simple in theory. There are only 3 variables - pressure, volume and temperature. A compression gauge only tells you what one of these variables is doing. You can work out the volume ratio by looking at the valve timing (it'll be something lower than the compression ratio), but it's difficult to get an idea of temperature. When air is compressed, it gets hot (that's how Diesel engines ignite the mixture). The heat effectively raises the pressure. It would be expected that the incoming air will be heated more in a hot engine than it would in a cold engine, so a hot engine should give a higher compression gauge reading.
As an example, I just put a refurbished cylinder head on a Kawasaki Z1300 and cranked it over to confirm compression before fitting the fuel, exhaust, ignition and cooling systems. The compression readings (between 110 and 120 psi on all 6 cylinders) were lower than the numbers in the workshop manual. But I wasn't bothered by that because the manual figures are for a hot engine, whereas I had no option but to test it cold.
A compression test is a crude diagnostic tool. A leakdown test will tell you more about the condition of the engine.
Cheers,
Cam