At present we are very used to using different printing equipment to obtain in a matter of seconds paper versions of documents of all kinds. Whether we use desktop printers, high-volume multifunctional equipment or copiers to obtain several sets of the same document, the most common method is that the laser printing method is used.
Although, although we use laser printing equipment on a daily basis, the most we know about them is that they use a toner, but how does it work? If you want to know the answer to this question, we invite you to continue reading.
Laser printing equipment works in a similar way to a copier, they contain a toner with ink and not cartridges, as is the case of inkjet printers that spray the ink on paper. The toner ink is made up of powdered pigments, so it is also known as dry ink, although to the touch this powder feels a bit oily.
Although in general terms the content of the cartridge is the pigment, in reality it is a compound of organic pigments, black carbon, polyester resins, wax, acrylic polymers, dye and silica, and according to the model of the printer The toner characteristics you need may vary. In addition to the variations in the composition of the ink, the size of the powder granules are different between a toner cartridge and another and this particular characteristic determines its melting point with the paper and, in part, the definition of the image to the time to print.
As we just mentioned, the characteristics of the toner depend on the needs and operation of the printing equipment. Broadly speaking we can find magnetic toner, which contains a significant amount of iron oxide in its composition, and electrostatic toner in which this oxide is not found but a high concentration of carbon black, which is the pigment of the ink of the cartridge.
Since we have talked about the types of toner that exist we will go a little deeper into its mode of operation. Laser printing, for which a toner cartridge is required, relies on static electricity to perform the printing process as such.
This process consists of different steps for the formation of the image and in general consists of a printing process in which a laser diode that is inside the printers or copiers, generates a beam of laser light that by means of a Set of lenses and mirrors reach the surface of a component known as OPC or drum, which is photosensitive and will attract the electronegative particles of the toner to form the image.
The first step in the process of image formation is cleaning and its purpose is to prepare the OPC or drum to receive the image to be printed. In the cleaning, with a cleaning sheet, known by the term in English as wiper blade, waste toner is removed from previous impressions of the waste deposit. This is done while the OPC is rotating so that with the friction of the wiper blade with the drum all the residues of the surface are eliminated.
The second step in the process of forming the image is the conditioning in which the crown or PCR creates on the surface of the OPC a layer of electrical charges leaving it ready for the next step that is the engraving. In the engraving, the negative charges created by the PCR on the OPC are polarized by the laser beams, that is, they change their value to attract the toner ink that will form the image that is printed on the support material.
If at this point we could see the inside of the printing equipment we could see that the OPC surface has formed the image to be printed, which is known as a latent image that in simple terms is a kind of negative of what is will form with the ink on the paper or material to be printed.
The next step is the development in which the latent image that was formed on the OPC becomes a visible image. In this step a developer roller coated with a homogeneous layer of electrically charged toner passes through the latent image containing positive charges, which causes the toner of the roller to pass to the OPC creating a visible image.
Subsequently, in the fifth step, the visible image of the OPC surface is transferred to the paper or material that is used for printing. As the paper passes through the OPC on top of it, the transfer ring of the printing equipment is moved in order to apply a positive charge to the surface of the paper so that it attracts the toner towards it.
The last step in the process of laser printing is the fusion or fixation in which a Teflon-coated aluminum roller, a pressure roller, a thermistor, a heater and a thermal fuse, which together is known as a fuser or fuser assembly, they make sure that the toner is fixed permanently to the paper. For this the heater raises the temperature of the aluminum roller until it reaches 180 ° C and with the help of the thermistor and thermal fuse that temperature remains constant, then the pressure roller, made of a silicone rubber, applies pressure to the aluminum roller while the paper passes between both rollers.
The aluminum roller heat melts the toner components and the pressure compresses them on the paper. This step is of great importance since, in case of insufficient fusion or fixation, the toner will be detached from the paper and the printing will not have the desired clarity, and toner residues will accumulate in the cleaning pad in excess..
Finally, it is important to mention that in the laser printers and copiers the stages that we have just described are performed simultaneously in different areas of the equipment and on average each printed page passes through the process four times.
If you are looking for a high performance laser printing equipment product catalog, at TEC Electronics we offer you a wide variety of printers, photocopiers and multifunctionals in prestigious brands. To receive detailed information, request a quote or a demonstration of our equipment contact us, we will gladly assist you.
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HealthyFoal87 Joined: October 15th, 2018 Articles Posted: 25
