Posts tagged ‘Laser Printer’

How Do Laser Printers Work?

By sizes paper, 8 January, 2010, No Comment

It is one of those things that most of us really don’t think about. How does a laser printer work? Well, you click “print” and it works, right? For most of us that is all we need to know or would care to know. But, in reality, it is something you should an understanding of if you are going to be buying a laser printer for the office network or shelling out a decent amount of cash.

Chemistry isn’t that bad

Most people have horror stories about chemistry class, me included. But when it comes to figuring out how a laser printer and chemistry work together it is not all that bad. Whether it is a HP, Epson, Cannon or Dell laser printer it works the same way, positive charges and negative charges. The old saying actually applies, opposites attract.

Getting charged

Within the laser printer there is a drum that slowly turns. As it turns it is given a charge by a wire (charge corona wire) or, in some cases, another roller. After the drum is charged the printer shoots a laser at the surface of the drum discharging the drum in certain places. These places end up looking like letters and numbers on the drum.

To get these discharged letters and number shapes off the drum and onto a piece of paper the laser printer covers the discharged shapes with charged toner. It then hooks them up with an oppositely charged piece of paper. As makes sense the toner is attracted to the paper and there it is, toner on paper. If you have ever changed a toner cartridge you can attest that the stuff loves to attach itself to just about anything. The process so far just makes the toner attach itself in an ordered fashion or letter and numbers.

Getting toned

The process is just about complete at the most basic level. What needs to happen to finish off the process is for the toner to be fused into the paper permanently. To accomplish this the laser printer rolls the paper by a heat roller to melt the toner into the fibers of the paper. As the laser printer does this it real eases the charge with yet another roller.

Ultimately, when the process is in synch there is no muss and no mess. But everything needs to be timed just right. In the end, there is a warm static free piece of paper with all the words fit and unfit to print.

All About Toner Based Printers

By sizes paper, 6 January, 2010, No Comment

Toner-based printers are called as such because of the use of toners for printing. Toners are a kind of powder that is made out of either carbon or synthetic polymers. Originally, toner-based printers are only able to print text and images in black and white. It was only recently that colored toners have been manufactured allowing these printers to print text and images in black and white and colored.How do Toner-Based Printers Work?An electrostatic charge is distributed evenly around a light-sensitive device in the printer called a drum. The image or text that is to be printed on the paper or board is then projected on the drum through some form of light source. This light source keeps the static charge on the drum to stay on the drum. Any portion of the drum that is not lighted will loose the electrostatic charge that was distributed when the printer was started. The paper or board is then fed. The toner, being in powder form, is immediately caught on the drum and then transferred onto the paper. There are two kinds of toner-based printers that are available in the market today. The most common is the laser printer. These use laser beams that precisely lights the drum surface during the printing process. Because of this, it is able to produce high quality text and images.The other kind of toner-based printer is the LED printer. The only difference between this kind of printer and a laser printer is the light source. Instead of using laser beams, these printers use LED light to project the image and text onto the light-sensitive drum.Common Brands of Toner-Based PrintersThe most common brands of toner-based printers used today are:Hewlett-Packard Canon Epson Brother LexmarkAdvantages of Toner-Based PrintersOne of the advantages of using toner-based printers is their ability to print on both pages of the paper, allowing many users to cut their paper usage by half. This ability has also lessened the bulkiness of the end printing materials like reports and manuals.Another advantage of toner-based printers is that they are not prone to water damage that is normally experienced by users of liquid inkjet printers.Disadvantages of Toner-Based PrintersMany health experts have stated that using toner-based printers can cause a number of health problems which is not experienced by those that use other kinds of printers. This is because these printers use toners which are made of extremely fine particles. Another disadvantage is the cost. Although these printers are able to provide high quality printed text and images, the initial cost of buying these kinds of printers are higher than other kinds of printers. Even the toner cartridges, especially colored toner cartridges, are more expensive than inkjet cartridges.

Laser Printer Buying Guides

By sizes paper, 5 December, 2009, No Comment

If you are looking to purchase laser printer, here are some features of laser printers which would be helpful to those who are purchasing laser printer or those who need information about laser printers. Laser printers give the highest quality text and images among the printers. Laser printers got different model. Some of them are perfect for small businesses and home offices. Some reliable low-cost models are also available that are perfect for everyday personal printing. Some of the features of Laser Printers are Resolution, Quality, and Color: – The standard resolution of leaser printer is 1200 dots per inch (dpi). For everyday printing, including small DTP jobs this type of laser printer is well-suited. But still some laser printers have a resolution of 300 dpi. Resolution enhancement technology is used in such laser printer with a resolution of 300 dpi because such printer causes rough edges on the images. RET are used to smooth the rough edges. Color laser printers are more expensive as compared to black-and-white versions and require a great deal of printer memory to produce high-resolution images Speed: – As far as speed is concerned Lasers printer is the fastest among the printer. One can get full-color results as fast as 3 to 4 pages per minute (ppm), and black-and-white output as fast as 25 ppm. But it needs time to warm up the fuser to operating temperature when the printer is turn on. It generally takes 5 to 30 seconds to warm up the printer. But now laser printer with “instant on” fuser is available. This instant on fusers has been design to reduce the warm up time of a printer Paper handling, size and capacity: – Most laser printers use letter-size, cut-sheet paper. Supplementary paper trays or feeders can be added to increase the capacity. Laser printers can print on a variety of papers sizes, types and weights, such as transparencies, labels and card stock. They can also handle non-traditional media like envelopes. But papers, such as iron-on transfers, are not suitable for laser printers, as the heat used in the transfer process could damage the paper and gum up your printer. A laser printer with duplex printing can print on one side of the paper, then turn the paper over and print on the other side. Most laser printers, however, use the simpler manual duplex printing. PCL or postscript:- PCL – “Printer command language” is the standard printer language for HP’s and most other laser printers. PCL is used for printing letters, database printouts, spreadsheets and simple graphics. A laser printer that uses only PCL can be upgraded to Postscript by installing a software driver provided by the manufacturer of the laser printer.

All You Need to Know About Your Printer Papers

By sizes paper, 27 November, 2009, No Comment

A printer is needed to print your choicest images on paper. Likewise, the quality of paper is important if you want that the images should match your vision. A printer, regardless whether it is a laser or an inkjet, has the capacity to print images on normal paper, gloss sheet, labels, photo paper, cards, tee shirts and even stickers.While laser printer can print on any surface, inkjet printers have a few constraints attached. Here are a few things to remember when you are out purchasing paper for your printer.Look for bright papersBright papers have the ability to brighten your final image. The effect is the result of a glossy finish which leads to a brighter reflection. The result is an excellent picture which is blessed with a bright image and a perfect depth.Choose wax covered paperThese papers do not absorb ink. They are coated with wax and are therefore perfect for a smooth finish. Normal papers are known to distort the images for they have an ability to absorb ink. Most inkjet printers use these papers for a high resolution image. Standard papers should be avoided.The variety is unlimitedIn a normal photo printer, you can use a wide variety of paper. Over here, your choice is vast and you can take a pick from standard photo papers, glossy papers, proofing papers, laser papers, semi gloss and matte papers luster and pearl papers. Design Printer Friendly Pages with the aid of CSSIf you wish to design the pages in your computer in accordance to your needs, you need to use the CSS technology to fit them into frame. The printer friendly page technique eliminates the use of a separate sheet and is therefore pocket friendly in nature.Choose your paper in accordance to your requirementPapers need to be chosen according to an individual’s requirement. If in case you need to choose a paper for printing quality photographs, you need to go in for ‘swellable paper’. It is a high quality paper which is blessed with a polymer coating. It stops the ink from spreading all around. Few miscellaneous tips• While choosing a print paper, you should always check whether it qualifies with your DPI percentage or not. Dots per inch signify the amount of ink a paper can absorb per square inch. If the DPI percentage is not written, take it for granted that the paper is of poor quality. Avoid it by all means.• Choose a paper which has an instant dry feature attached. This would allow the paper to remain dry and produce high quality images. If it isn’t advertised, leave it.

How to buy a copier guide

By sizes paper, 26 November, 2009, No Comment

Buying a copier for your office can become a daunting task with the huge variety of options available. To make the buying process easier, it is better to understand your budget, the copying requirements etc . It may also be worthwhile to explore if there any tax saving options available for your business.

For a SOHO business, the convenience of copying in house as compared to visiting a copy shop may be the key reason for buying a copier. For an SME, the considerations can be the cost of copying in house vs externally as also the time factor. With the advent of the multifunction copier, it is now possible to have a laser printer, copier, fax and scanner all in one! This can help with managing space in your office. If you require large volume of copying and printing, then there are machines custom designed to do this economically

Below are a few features you must consider before you make the final decision :

Duplexing

This is the capability to print on both sides. It’s worth paying a little more for this feature as it saves money in the long run.

Black And White Or Color Copier?

If you plan to use your copier for producing marketing collaterals, it is worthwhile investing in a color copier.

Copier Versatility

Make sure the copier can handle a variety of paper sizes and weights. You may also need to copy transparencies and index cards. If you need to copy from books, then go for a flatbed copier.

Copier Paper Capacity

As a business person, you can save time by giving a decent size copy run instead of copying one paper at a time. Look for a copier with a paper capacity which matches your requirement. You may also want a copier with a automatic document feeder that holds at least 20 sheets.

Copier Maintenance

Buy copiers which is low on maintenance. It is better to invest a little more into a high performance copier with low maintenance than a cheap copier with a high maintenance

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