If you have worked in an office in the last decade or so then you have probably used a laser printer, you may even have a laser printer in your house. Laser printers are great pieces of printer technology, the quality they can print is just as good as most other printers when it comes to monochrome documents (black and white) and the best thing is the amount of prints they can do before the toner runs out, making them generally more economical than a inkjet printer.
Printing with a Laser Printer
So how do these magical devices work? Well that’s what we’re here to talk about. Understanding how your printer works could help you solve problems with it and maybe even save money in the future.
A laser printer usually has the following basic parts that enable it to print: A photoreceptor drum, lasers or LEDs, toner hopper and a fuser. This is where it gets a bit complicated, but I’m sure you’ll be able to follow. A laser printer uses static to create images on the paper you’re printing onto, the process is as follows.
Laser Printer Printing Process
- The whole photoreceptor drum is given a positive charge.
- The laser or LED is give negative charge to the areas in which the image is being printed, a good way to think about it is that the laser is etching away the image of what you’re printing with a negative charge. You are then left with a positively charged background and a negatively charged version of your image or document on the drum.
- The printer then covers the drum in toner dust which is charged positively. The toner sticks to the negatively charged areas and does not stick to the positive areas, so your image is then left in toner dust on the drum.
- Your positively charged paper is then pressed against the drum and the negatively charged toner is transferred to the paper.
- The paper is then passed through the fuser and is heated up so that the toner is fused into the paper fibres.
- You end up with your freshly printed document or image.
- The printer discharged the drum ready for the next print.
It can sound a bit complicated, but in very basic terms the laser printer burns toner dust onto your paper in the right places.