The how's and why's of toner cartridges

If you've ever had to change the toner in a copy machine that doesn't use toner cartridges, you have intimate knowledge of just how messy and nasty a job that can be. Black toner powder clings to everything, including your fingers, your face, your clothes and everything in the office. Laser printers that use toner cartridges have made that messy job a thing of the past - but there's a lot more to toner cartridges than just saving on your dry cleaning bill.

To understand how technologically advanced and ingenious the toner cartridge is, you have to first understand how a laser 'writes' on paper. A precise explanation could take an entire book - or more. In simplified terms, here's what happens when you print a page on a laser printer:

1. The information on how to set up a page is sent to your printer from your computer. Since the printer doesn't actually understand letters, your computer and the printer controller exchange the information in a series of codes that break the letters and images down to 'dots'. Each 'dot' is an area to be printed.

2. The printer uses a laser to shine a bright light (laser) on a rotating drum in a pattern that corresponds to the pattern of dots that its  stored in its memory. Wherever the light shines on the drum, it leaves a positive electrical charge - like a magnet.

3. As the drum continues to turn, the electrically charged area passes over a reservoir that holds powdered toner. The magnetized areas attract the toner from the opening in the toner cartridge, creating a temporary image on the drum.

4. At the same time, the printer is creating a similar electrically charged 'image' on the paper that's to be printed - but with the charge reversed.

5. The paper is pulled through a set of rollers that runs it a precise distance below the charged drum. Because the charged areas of the paper are the opposite of the charged areas that hold the toner on the drum, the powdered toner that the toner cartridge deposited on the drum is drawn to the paper, creating the image.

6. The paper is drawn through a pair of heated rollers that melt the toner and fuse it to paper.

Rather than ink, toner cartridges are filled with a fine powder that's made from plastic and pigment. The pigment provides the color - the plastic serves as a 'binder' when it melts into the paper, making a smudge-proof print.

 

The toner cartridge for most printers contains the toner, roller, a mechanism for delivering the charge and often, software so that the printer can understand the computer's instructions.

Better color laser printers use a complete printer assembly, including toner cartridge, for each of the four colors that the printer uses to make the millions of colors possible.

While laser toner cartridges may seem expensive, each cartridge prints thousands of pages, making them less expensive in the long run than expensive ink jet cartridges.

For more information on toner cartridges or to browse through a range of printer ink products please select from the following:

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