Laser Printer

Laser Printer

1. Printer receives a bitmap copy of the file to be printed.

2. A drum (called a photoreceptor) is negatively charged using a wire (corona wire).

3. A laser is reflected onto the drum using a mirror, creating areas of positive charge in the shape of the image to be printed.

4. Negatively charged toner coats the drum and sticks to the positively charged areas due to electrostatic attraction.

5. The medium to be printed on is positively charged by the transfer corona wire. The drum then rolls over the medium and the toner is transferred to the paper due to the differing charge.

6. The medium passes through a component called the fuser, which heats the toner and causes it to fuse with the medium.

7. Finally, the drum is exposed to a discharge lamp, which neutralises the drum's surface.