The laser printer uses a special toner that is fused to the paper and produces clear, crisp text on virtually any type of paper. Unlike conventional printers, which use inkjet technology to apply color, laser printers use light energy to melt the surface of the paper. This makes for sharper, more vibrant images on your documents.
Quick Answer: The proper order of the imaging process in a laser printer is sending, processing, charging, exposing, developing, transferring, and fusing.
A laser printer uses the same method of imaging as a copier. However, the difference between the two machines is that a laser printer uses light to expose the image onto the paper. This is different than the way that a copier exposes the image using toner. In addition to that difference, the laser printer uses a light beam to expose the image. A copier uses an electron beam to expose the image onto the paper.
What are the 7 steps for laser printing in order?
Laser printing works by using a laser beam to transfer ink onto paper. In this way, the laser printer melts tiny dots of ink onto your paper. It’s similar to the way light shines through water droplets and reflects back to the surface. We all know the benefits of using laser printers, now let’s talk about the 7 important steps of the laser printing process.
Here is the step-by-step process of how laser printers work:
- Sending
- Cleaning
- Conditioning
- Exposing
- Developing
- Transferring
- Fusing
Step 1: Sending
The process begins with the document being broken down into digital data and sent from the respective computer to the printer.
Laser printers will capture the data and process the digital document. Printers are able to do this because they are able to transform digital data into printed images.
Step 2: Cleaning
After your printer prints a document, it goes through a cleaning process to remove any residue left on the drum. Toner residue is removed using a rubber-cleaning blade and then electrical charges on the drum are defused by electrostatic erase lamps.
Lubricant is then applied to the heat roller so that an adequate amount of heat is evenly applied to transfer the incoming image.
Step 3: Conditioning
Conditioning the paper means applying a negative charge to the drum and the paper as it moves through the corona wire. The result is that an image will be created that has been electrically transferred to the laser printer page.
Step 4: Exposing
The next step is exposure. The laser is shone onto the photosensitive drum, and a latent print is created on the drum’s surface. The photosensitive drum is charged before it’s exposed to the laser, and the charge then dissipates once the laser beam passes through.
The charge left on the drum represents the latent print, and that latent print eventually becomes visible after the paper passes over the drum.
The printer cartridge contains an inner chamber that stores the ink to produce colors, as well as a separate chamber that contains the toner to produce black. The laser inside of the cartridge fires a beam of light that spins around the cylinder to form the image.
Once the laser strikes the surface, it produces charged particles of either positive or negative charge. The toner particles then stick to the surface of the drum because they are of the same charge, thus forming the color of the image.
Step 5: Developing
In the developing stage, the image on the drum can be seen. Black, cyan, magenta, and yellow are the negatively charged powdered plastics in the toner. A control blade is used to hold the drum at a small distance.
The Toner is made of finely ground plastic. Some of the ingredients used in printers include colored pigments, fumed silica, and control agents. It is possible to keep the particles from sticking together.
It makes it easier for the ink to flow from the printer to the Cartridges. The control agents zinc, iron, and chromium are used to keep the negative charge of the particles in check.
Step 6: Transferring
Next comes transferring. The secondary corona wire applies a positive charge to the paper. The toner begins to heat up when the agitator unit spins inside.
The adder collects dust on its surface when it spins. A doctor blade sweeps over a developer roller to level the toner.
All the spinning and commotion has left the magenta particles on its surface with a negative charge, and when it comes in contact with the positively charged image on the OPC drum, the Laws of attraction take over. The positively charged areas on the paper are magnetically attracted to the negatively charged surface of the drum.
The magenta toner particles are pulled from the developer onto the drum according to the precise instructions left by the laser. A few magenta toner particles here, several there, and a bunch more that will blend with black, yellow, and blue to form a rainbow of beautiful colors.
Step 7: Fusing
The final phase is Fusing. The pressure and heat are applied by the unit. As it is pressed and melted into the paper a permanent bond is formed. The fuser unit is covered with Teflon in order to prevent the sheet of paper from sticking to it.
The toner powder is melted onto the page by the unit. The remaining particles are deposited into a waste bin. Any charge left on the drum surface is erased, restored, refreshed, and ready for the laser printer to sing again.
Excess toner that isn’t transferred to the drum is scrubbed from the developer unit and returned to the hopper for use on the next printed page. A waste ton is wiped into a bin when it’s not transferred.
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