9 Important Components to Know in a Laser Printer
Did you know laser printers were invented in the 1970s by Xerox Corporation and has since proliferated throughout the world into offices and homes, creating great conveniences at low prices over time. However, the laser printing technology is complex and requires many component parts like the toner cartridge and drum cartridge to work together in order to work smoothly. Let us introduce the various major important components
OPC Drum
This piece of component is like someone who wears glasses. Once it is scratched, it is like a person who is wearing scratched glasses, your view will be flawed. In the same vein, scratches/lines will appear on your laser printer print out if this component is faulty. It is important to avoid exposing it to sunlight as well.
Doctor/Wiper Blade
A doctor blade is an important piece of component where it helps to level the amount of toner powder delivered to other components in the laser printer. It also helps with charging the toner which is important in delivering crisp clear legible prints.
Drum
A drum unit is a metal cylinder that has a special coating (green colour) that can receive a static positive and negative electrical charge from the laser within a laser printer. In layman terms, the drum helps to “draw” the required print out onto the paper for the toner to be printed on it. Depending on the brand, the drum can be either combined with the toner cartridge or a stand-alone piece of component.
Toner
A toner cartridge contains coloured or carbon / iron oxide powder (toner) that is positively charged, which is then melted onto the paper. The toner powder is distributed onto the paper evenly with the help of the doctor blade, forming the image that the drum has helped constructed.
Waste Toner Bin
The waste toner bin collects residual waste toner powder from the printing process. The waste toner bin will be full over time and needs to be change. If not change, the printer will not function or the print quality will be highly compromised
Electronic Chip
The electronic chip is contained on the toner cartridge. Some brands like Brother in certain regions do not use a chip to function the toner. Basically, the chip is like the brain of the toner cartridge. It communicates any instructions relayed to the cartridge to perform its task like releasing charged toner powder onto the paper and also estimating the remaining toner level. A faulty chip will yield error messages on the printer lcd screen
Laser Beam
The laser part of the printer transmits light from the diode across a series of mirrors in the laser printer. They reflect the laser onto the drum unit to imprint the shape of the intended print.
Transfer Belt
The transfer belt moves the paper through your printer and passes it across the drum so that the toner can be transferred. Some smaller printers do not have a transfer belt but instead have rollers that act in the same way as a belt. If the belt is faulty, it will result in frequent paper jams
Fuser Unit
The fuser unit is a heated roller that melts the toner particles onto the page as it passes through. This seals the toner to the page so it’s no longer in powder form and makes sure that the toner doesn’t smudge or fall off the paper when it comes out of the printer
Summary
In order to best function a laser printer, it is useful to understand generally how a laser printer works along with its components. It gives you a good idea of what is going wrong if the print out is of inferior quality or paper jams or even encountering printer error messages. Unscrupulous suppliers offering unbelievably low prices tend to use inferior or refurbished for parts like OPC drum, doctor blade, toner powder and electronic chip.
If in any doubt, speak to our team of qualified experts. We understand our products thoroughly so you can only expect the best quality products and shop with confidence. Our range of high quality toner cartridges can be found in the link below
Recent Comments