3.11 Printer

Question 1

Laser Printer

Answer 1

• Combine a laser, high voltage, charged ions,
powdered ink, heat, and paper
• Very high quality
• Fast printing speeds
• Very complex, many moving parts, requires on-printer
memory and messy on the inside

Question 2

Laser Printer: Imaging drum

Answer 2

• Image is drawn onto a photosensitive drum
• “Painted” with a laser
• Picks up toner - Transfers toner to the paper
• Can be separate from the toner cartridge or combined

Question 3

Laser Printer: Fuser assembly

Answer 3

• Heat and pressure - Melt plastic toner powder

* Permanently bond toner to paper

Question 4

Laser Printer: Transfer Belt and Roller

Answer 4

• Color laser printers
• Cyan, yellow, magenta, black
• Four separate toner cartridges
• Image is transferred from all cartridges to the single belt
• And then to a single transfer roller

Question 5

Laser Printer: Pickup Rollers

Answer 5

• Pickup paper - Should be a single page at a time
• Problems if no paper is picked up
or multiple sheets are picked
• Should be periodically cleaned or replaced

Question 6

Laser Printer: Separation Pad

Answer 6

• Pull just the top sheet from the paper tray
• Not multiple sheets
• Small and inexpensive - Easy to clean or replace

Question 7

Laser Printer: Duplexing Assembly

Answer 7

• Printers usually print on a single side
• Not both sides simultaneously
• Printing on both sides is a two step process
• Print side one, print side two
• You need mechanisms to “flip” the page
• Automatically
• Can be built-in to the printer
• Or available as an add-on

Question 8

Laser Printer: Processing Step 1 - 7

Answer 8

Step 1: Processing
• Build the entire page in memory
Step 2: Charging
• Prepare the drum with a
negative electrostatic charge
Step 3: Exposing
• Write the image with the laser
Step 4: Developing
• Add toner to the charged areas
of the imaging drum
Step 5: Transferring
• Move the toner from
the drum to the paper
Step 6: Fusing
• Heat and pressure
Step 7: Cleaning
• Remove excess toner

Question 9

Laser Printer Maintenance: Replacing the Toner Cartridge

Answer 9

• Look for the messages
• Low doesn’t mean empty
• The toner can also contain the OPC drum
• Organic Photoconductor drum
• Sensitive to light; keep it in the bag
• Power down the printer
• Safety first
• Remove packing strips from the new drum
• Replace it with the old

Question 10

Laser Printer Maintenance kit

Answer 10

• Laser printers wear out
• All those moving parts
• Heat and pressure
• Standard maintenance kits
• Replacement feed rollers, new fuser unit, etc.
• When to perform maintenance?
• Check the printer’s page counter
• Power down and replace the components
• Fuser units are HOT
• Reset the page counter when you’re done!

Question 11

Laser Printer Maintenance: Calibration

Answer 11

• Different toner cartridges print with different densities
• Some dark, some light
• Laser printer calibration can adjust the density
• Makes it looks perfect
• Can be automated or a manual process
• Every printer is different
• Check the printer manual

Question 12

Laser Printer Maintenance: Laser Printer Cleaning

Answer 12

• Laser printers are dirty - All that toner and paper dust
• Check the manufacturer’s recommendations
• Water, isopropyl alcohol (IPA)
• Don’t use harsh chemicals!
• Outside - Damp cloth
• Inside - Wipe dust away
• Don’t use a normal vacuum cleaner or compressed air
• Wash off skin with cold water
• Clean rollers with IPA

Question 13

Inkjet Printers: Inkject(ink-dispersion) printer

Answer 13

• Relatively inexpensive technology
• Quiet
• High-resolution
• Expensive ink
• Proprietary
• Eventually fades
• Clogs easily

Question 14

Inkject Printer: Ink Cartridge

Answer 14

• Place drops of ink onto a page
• Pulled from a set of cartridges
• CMYK
• Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (black)

Question 15

Inkject Printer: Print head

Answer 15

• Some consumer printers integrate the print head into
the ink cartridge
• Change the cartridge, get a new print head
• Others separate the ink cartridge from the print head

Question 16

Inkject Printer: Feed rollers

Answer 16

• Pick up and feed paper through the printer
• Must be clean and not worn
• Duplexing
• Print on both sides of the paper
• Included with some printers

Question 17

Inkject Printer: Carriage and Belt

Answer 17

• Ink cartridges are moved over the paper
• Carriage may include its own print head
• Belt moves the carriage back and forth
• Another moving part

Question 18

Inkject Printer: Calibration

Answer 18

• Align nozzles to the paper
• Lines should be crisp
• Colors should align
• Printer includes a calibration option
• May need to make minor adjustments

Question 19

Inkject Printer Maintenance: Cleaning Print Heads

Answer 19

• Small droplets of ink
• And small holes in a print head
• Clogged heads is a big issue
• Many printers automatically clean every day
• Output has streaks or sections of missing color
• Cleaning process can be started manually
• Only takes a few minutes
• Some print heads/cartridges can be removed
• Manually cleaning may help

Question 20

Ink Printer Maintenance: Replacing inkject cartridges

Answer 20

• Usually separate colors
• Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (CMYK)
• Some cartridges will combine these
• Takes seconds to replace
• Takes a few minutes to calibrate and
prepare the cartridge
• Recycle the empty cartridge
• All plastic

Question 21

Ink Printer Maintenance: Inkject Printer Calibration

Answer 21

• Align nozzles to the paper
• Lines should be crisp
• Colors should not overlap
• Printer includes a calibration option
• May need to make minor adjustments

Question 22

Ink Printer Maintenace: Clearing jams

Answer 22

• Lots of turns and twists
• A jam is inevitable
• Remove tray paper
• Any loose paper
• Remove paper from the path
• Firm pressure, don’t rip
• Check for any scraps of paper
• Remove all loose paper

Question 23

Thermal Printers

Answer 23

Thermal printer
• White paper
• Turns black when heated
• No ink!
• VERY quiet
• Almost silent
• Paper is sensitive to light and heat
• And clear tape

Question 24

Thermal Printers: Feed Assembly

Answer 24

• Pull paper through the printer

* Relatively small paper path