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How does a laser jet printer work

How Does A Laser Printer Work?

Laser printers are the most efficient printers around, but how exactly do they work? This article is going to run through the process of how it functions, and what processes occur during printing. If you appreciate understanding technology, then you will enjoy this guide.

How Does It Work?

When you choose to print something, your computer will send all of the required information to the printer electronically. A circuit board inside the laser printer reads and deciphers the information and prepares how it will look on the page. Once it has calculated everything, a beam bounces backwards and forwards across a drum, which is located inside the printer.  This creates static electricity, which helps create the image to be printed. The static electricity then draws the toner onto the page, much in the way that a magnet works, which is then fused to the paper via the help of a fuser.

The process is much the same as the way in which a photocopier works. The toner contains negatively charged ions, which are drawn to the positive charge of the static electricity. While many think a laser printer prints directly onto the paper, it, in fact, does not come into contact with it at all. The toner particles or the ink as it is commonly called gently attaches itself to the positively charged areas on the paper, which builds the image or text sent from the computer.  Once the toner is in place, it passes between two rollers, which run at a high heat. It is this passing through the rollers that permanently bonds the toner to the paper.

Once that toner is fused, it is then pushed out the side of the printer machine where it is ready to be collected. This differs in the way in which a normal ink printer works, which directly imprints ink onto the surface of the paper. The end result of laser printing is a more crisp and clear image, which resists smudging when removed from the unit. It is all thanks to science that the laser printer works, without the positive charge, the negative particles would not be able to affix to the charged areas of the paper, and thus no image or text would be formed. It is actually a very simple process and one which creates a high-quality finish of the work that is being printed.