Laser printer how does it work

A sheet of paper is then fed underneath the toner-coated drum and the toner is passed onto its surface, creating a printer copy of a digital document or image. With the first laser printers being made commercially available in , laser printing has proved itself as a reliable and effective printing solution. Incorporating laser beam technology in order to provide high precision outputs, laser printers are the perfect choice for offices and busy workplaces.

The laser printing process is fundamentally different from the inkjet printing process, which utilises precision streams of ink to print onto the paper. A modern-day laser printer comprises of 8 main components, each essential in producing the superb print quality we are used to today. The anatomy of a printer includes:.

Requiring a high voltage in order to charge the drum, the power supply works to convert AC current into higher voltages needed for the transfer process.

The role of the drum unit is to attract positively charged toner particles onto its surface. In order to achieve this, laser printers usually use a corona wire which carries a high voltage. Once the drum is adequately charged, the laser beam is guided onto the surface of the drum via mirrors which precisely scans the images onto the surface of the drum.

Laser printers use microscopic ink particles in a powdered form known as toner. Once heated by the fuser unit, the toner melts allowing it to be fused to the paper fibres under pressure. Like inkjet cartridges, toner is most commonly used in the CMYK colours. Combined, these colours can recreate any colour palette. The primary corona wire is responsible for positively charging the drum unit in order for the drum unit to be able to draw the toner particles onto its surface.

The transfer corona wire is given a negative charge in order to negatively charge the paper and draw the toner particles from the surface of the drum onto the sheet. Both of these wires require high voltages in order to create adequate charge, this is supplied by the high voltage power supply.

The fuser unit comprises of two heated rollers used to physically fuse the toner particles onto the paper. Using high levels of heat and pressure, the powdered toner particles are melted and form a strong bond with the fabric of the paper. Given the high speed that the fuser unit operates, the sheet has as little contact with the paper as possible which avoids the risk of fire.

I am just wondering if the special coating the green color on the drum unit is photoconductive, where when light hits it becomes a conductor? Hi there, another name for the drum unit is a photo-conductor unit so I would imagine you are correct. Hi, my university project is about how laser cartridges and copiers work and are made. And also if calculations are made on the manufacture of the cartridges.

I am an electronics student. If you know a source, please help me. Hi there, good luck on your project. The only thing you could do is contact manufacturers directly and see if they can help. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam.

Learn how your comment data is processed. How Laser Printers Work The printers laser beams your print onto a metal cylinder called a drum. Using static electricity, the drum attracts powdered toner from its cartridge to the drum. The drum rolls the toner onto the paper in the form of your print. The toner is melted onto the paper by heat from a fuser as it passes underneath.

Your print comes out of the printer. What does a laser printer do? How Laser Printers Work — Full Technical Explanation And now for those who love a good technical explanation including all the ins and outs, and science behind how a laser printer works, read on. Step-by-step The moment you press print on your computer, tablet or mobile device, the information is sent to the printer memory, where the data is stored.

The printer begins to warm up. As the drum coated metal cylinder begins to roll, it received a positive charge across its whole surface. The laser activates, and beams against a series of mirrors to reflect across the surface of the drum s imprinting the shape of your print using an opposite negative electrical charge. The toner cartridge and hopper sat next to the drum s slowly releases positively charged carbon toner particles on to the drum as it turns.

The toner is attracted to any areas of negative charge leaving positively charged areas of the drum untouched. The transfer belt rolls the paper through the printer giving it a positive charge. As it passes the drum, the negatively charged toner is attracted to the page in the shape of your print. The information on the drum is then transferred to paper using static electricity to position tiny particles of powdered toner in the correct pattern.

The toner powder is then permanently fused onto the paper by the heat and pressure from rollers inside the machine and your finished printout emerges from the tray - hot from the press. This process may sound complex, but it all takes place at lightning speed inside your laser printer without you ever knowing. The big difference between laser printers and inkjet printers is ink. While laser printers use toner, inkjet printers essentially spray ink onto paper through a nozzle in microscopic droplets.

There are two types of inkjet printers - Bubblejet and Inkjet - which use slightly different techniques to achieve the same effect. Inkjet printers can be relatively inexpensive in themselves.

However, ink cartridges need to be replaced regularly and the cost can start to add up, especially if you make the mistake of choosing an inefficient inkjet printer. Laser printers on the other hand use toner cartridges which can print thousands of pages before needing to be replaced.

For this reason, they are generally considered to be more economical. Traditionally, laser printers have been the preferred choice for offices, SMBs and high-volume home printing, whereas Inkjet have been favoured for personal use.

As for quality, it depends on your particular needs. Laser printers are excellent for text-based documents, but inkjet printers tend to do better with photo-quality prints and complex, image-heavy printouts.

Ultimately, your choice of printer should be based on your business or personal needs. If you regularly print large volumes of documents, particularly text, and demand consistently high-quality outputs, then laser printers are the perfect solution for you.

Laser printers are fast and efficient when printing large volumes and offer excellent quality with crisp, sharp text. Brother offers innovative and expertly engineered laser printers , including colour , mono and all-in-one models, with the ability to customise accessories and features, such as higher yield toner cartridges for printing more pages.