Laser printers are much widely found in most places than most other type of printers. Laser printers use a process known as electro-photographic imaging, produce high-speed output with high-quality image, both in terms of text and graphics. This kind of printers depends on the photoconductive properties of specific organic compounds.
Advent of laser printers
The very first laser printers that were out in the market, created only monochrome graphics. You can buy color laser printers as well. Thing is, most laser printers found today, produce monochrome images as well. Even though, a color laser printer is fully capable of producing complex color images like photographs, they are best for printing what is called ‘spot color’. For instance, something highlighting, like a headline, lines, charts, and other such graphical elements.
Usage of ink by printers
Keep in mind one thing that, there are printers out there that use consumables like an ink, at a faster speed than others. This is the reason, printers are ranked based on their cost per page. An inexpensive printers, like a laser or inkjet, can costs 4 cents per page while an expensive one may cost somewhere around 20 cents per page. Now that is a big difference if you are producing in mass volume. This kind of hidden costs are generally gradual in the sub per $100 inkjet. The low prices of these printers often lure the buyers only to find out there are more hidden costs than the price of the printers. Now, a set of color and black inkjet cartridges cost as much or close the original printer itself. In some cases, that can even exceed the price of the printer.
Basic compounds of laser printers
If we break down photoconductive, photoconductive has compounds that is when exposed to light, conducts electricity. Photo is the part that is exposed to the light. Hence, the photoconductive part. Laser printers have lasers in them that act as the light source due to their precision. There are also some cheap or low-cost printers which use LED arrays as their light source.
Toner cartridge
Yes, not much of a shocker yeah? Toner cartridge has the responsibility of a cartridge obviously. It supplies the toner that helps create the image on the paper we see. Manufacturers manages to fit some of the parts, that wear down over time so fast, inside the toner cartridge, to effectively cut down maintenance cost. Even though this leads to the fact that it makes replacement of each part virtually impossible, it does reduces the need for replacement in the first place. Hence those parts are that are vulnerable and most prone to break are replaced every time you replace a toner cartridge.
There are four toner cartridges for a color laser printers. They are – black, cyan, magenta, and yellow.
Imaging Drum
Imaging drum is also known as a photosensitive drum, is an aluminium cylinder, that is coated with photosensitive particle compounds. This drum is directly grounded to the power supply but not the coating. Every time the light hits the particles, any electrical charge is drained out by the grounded cylinder.
Erase Lamp
It is due to the erase lamp that the photosensitive coating gets conductive when the whole surface of the imaging drum is exposed to the light. Any electrical charge left out is then drained out by the grounded drum, that helps the surface particles left electrically neutral.