How Do Laser Cartridges Work?

Many of us tend to buy and use machines without knowing the mechanisms and technology properly. It is true that for using a machine effectively, you just need to know how to operate it. But, if there is a sudden breakdown of the machine, you have to call for professional help. Lack knowledge about the working mechanisms do not let us understand minor faults in the machines, which are not easily solvable.

Printers are such machines that are used by almost everyone these days for printing documents and taking copies of written work. Among the different types of printers, the machine that is commonly used is the laser printer. Let us discuss in brief about the working of the laser printer and the maintenance of the laser cartridges.

• Laser cartridges use excellent quality toner for producing marvelous printouts. The mechanism of printers using such cartridges also allows it to print a large number of pages within a short time.

• Laser printing is also called “Electrostatic printing” and is vastly different from the way in which an inkjet or dot matrix printer operates. Laser cartridges use electrical charges to produce the images on the printouts.

• In the process of printing by using laser cartridges, light photons are discharged into the transparent cylinder inside the printer. When a laser beam is fired into the cylindrical drum, letters and images are received by the drum in the form of electrical charges. This drum is coated with toner which acts as an anode (positively charged end). The printing job is done by rolling the negatively charged papers (cathode) into the cylinder.

• Inside the laser cartridges there are four toners – cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Remember, if any one color runs out, the printer can still print documents by using the other three colors. So, there no need to change the toner until the last cartridge is used up.

You need to know these basic mechanisms so that you can at least know the root of the problem in case of a complete breakdown. But there can be some minor faults that you should be able to tackle. For example in case of a paper jam, you must check if it is the result of an improper paper feed. If the laser cartridge is not giving good quality printouts, you must remove, shake, and replace it in the machine.