Color Laser Printers

Every color laser printer has a coated imaging drum, light-emitting diodes with a wavelength of 785 nm, a fixation unit and toner. The coating of the special imaging drum has a negative electric charge, the paper has a positive electric charge. As the drum rotates across the paper, the laser creates the print image on the imaging drum by neutralizing the negative charg on parts of the drum. The toner sticks to the electrostatic charge of the print image on the imaging drum, is then melted in the fuser unit and under pressure transmitted onto the paper.

Color Laser Printer Advantages

Color laser printers can print in an excellent quality. Printed text and graphics look sharp and clear. Color laser printers can print black in an yet unprecedented darkness and on a vast variety of paper types. The toner is UV-resistant and does not smudge when coming in contact with water drops or with wet hands.

Advantages:

• Fast printing
• Excellent print quality
• Long-lasting print quality
• Convenient maintenance costs
• No smearing toner
• Continuous operation is possible

Disadvantages:

• Relatively high acquisition cost
• Possible fine dust pollution
• Printer requires warm up time before printing
• High energy consumption

Color Laser Printer Disadvantages

If you would like to duplicate high quality photographs, it is recommended to use a photo printer. Althoughinkjet printers produce a relatively good quality image on special paper, the print quality is still not comparable with the one of a photo printer. A color laser printer is unsuitable for high-quality photo prints, because there is usually a lack of color depth and color precision. Thus, color laser printers are not recommendable for reference prints and proofs.

Creases in the paper may cause toner to peel off. Higher paper weight sometimes reduce the processing speed of the print job. After about 20.000 printed pages, the image drum has to be exchanged. To turn the printer off overnight instead of having it in stand-by mode, will reduce energy costs.

Stationery such as envelopes, foils and labels have to withstand a temperature of up to 200 degrees Celsius. To print on conductive materials (e.g. ESD materials) is not possible because of the electrostatic charging process during printing. Rigid materials such as CDs or DVD disks also can't be processed.

To have the functions printing, scanning, copying and faxing combined in one device is very convenient for small businesses or in the home office. It is wonderfully easy to cancel a contract within minutes and to be legally on the safe side thanks to the fax function. The children have the opportunity to enhance their school presentations with colorful slides. A delicious recipe is quickly copied from the magazine and when it is urgent, a document can be scanned and sent by e-mail.

Summary

Who mainly prints texts and graphics is well served with purchasing a color laser printer. The acquisition of a color laser printer is also recommendable for businesses that need to print a lot. Even for home users who need their printer only occasionally a color laser printer is recommendable thanks to the reduced purchase price and the low maintenance costs. If you do not like cable clutter, you can buy a color laser printer with a WLAN function.