Activity

The Basics

There is a very simple way in which printers work. Shortly, printers create physical copies of digital images and text. In order to do this, drivers or specialized software are used to convert the file into a language that the printer understands. Miniscule dots are used to recreate the image or text on the page. Various kinds of machines use the same method for transferring dots onto pages, which is the only real difference.

Inkjet

There are thousands of tiny holes in the print head of each inkjet printer. At high speeds, these tiny holes spray microscopic droplets of ink onto the paper.

Inkjet machines print using a liquid ink made either from dyes or from liquids with suspended solid pigments. Perpendicular to the print head, paper passes through the machine horizontally. Each hole in the print head is activated according to the manufacturer (usually by heat or electric current) and a small amount of ink is pushed out. At high speeds, thousands of droplets form together to create the digital text or image that is being transferred. As a result of the dots’ tiny size, the overall image appears solid.

Laser / LED

Typical laser and LED machines create images from lots of tiny dots, which, when viewed collectively, appear as solid images, similar to inkjet. In creating those tiny dots, a different method is used. A laser machine uses toner, a fine powder of solid particles, instead of liquid dots used in inkjet printers.

There are Printed window graphics to lasers than there are to inkjet machines. Inkjet machines have many fewer stages during their process than these machines. This basic process involves a laser / LED light source, a monochrome or colour drum, and toner.

First, the drum is charged and then the laser or LED is shone on it in the outline of the desired image. An array of rollers transfer the powder from the toner cartridge to the drum so that it can be attracted to areas of the drum that have had their charge knocked off. Areas which are charged repel the toner, while those which are not attract the toner particles which stick to the image parts on the drum. During the transfer process, the paper meets the drum, which also transmits the image to a page.

The paper is then passed through a fuser unit (hot roller) that applies heat and pressure in order to melt the toner particles.

Solid Ink

Inkjet and laser printers can both print with solid inks, which are only available from Xerox. Inkjet printers use a print head similar to that found on solid wax melted and sprayed on a drum unit. A large metallic roller transfers the image directly to the paper. A crayon-like substance remains after the paint dries. It is well known that solid ink printers produce vibrant, colour prints that really stand out from the crowd.