Laser printer is a computer-driven printer that uses lasers to produce output on paper. A tiny, pinpoint laser electrically charges a light-sensitive drum in the image of the computer screen. Dry ink called toner is electrically charged and dusted onto the drum. The toner is given an electrical charge opposite to the charge on the parts of the drum where text and images are represented, so the toner sticks only to those parts of the drum. A sheet of paper is given an electrical charge matching but stronger than the drum’s. When the paper is pressed against the drum, the oppositely charged toner transfers to the paper. The paper then passes through rollers that heat the paper for an instant, causing the toner to stick permanently to the paper. The result is a copy of the screen image on the paper. This technology was adapted from copying machines.
Laser printers approach the print quality standards of traditional printing methods. Professionals now employ laser printers for some commercial printing, such as magazine and book layouts. Access to laser printers revolutionized the printing and design industries and made possible desktop publishing, the use of personal computers to edit and design publications.
Laser printers can produce several pages of text per minute. They reproduce complex images and photographs at a slower rate. Some laser printers can produce color output.
