What Is An LED Printer?
There was a time, not too long ago, when the laser printer was considered to be the finest, the most cutting-edge printer around. It's still great for most printing needs, but it has evolved into something even better: the LED printer.
The LED Printer Defined
The LED printer is a specific kind of laser printer. It does a better print job because it's toner-based and because it uses an array of "light emitting diodes" (LEDs) instead of standard laser power to create toner adhesion. During the print process, the LED bar pulses and flashes across the width of the page and forms an image on the printer belt or drum, while it moves.
Benefits of the LED Printer
LEDs are more reliable and efficient than other typical laser printers are. This is partially because they don't have as many moving parts as conventional printers. LED printers often have faster print rates than other lasers, depending on the printer design. They're also usually cheaper to manufacture. A laser printer relies on an elaborate combination of lenses and rotating mirrors which must stay in alignment throughout their use. In actual print use, the "laser" scans from the end of one line to the next, then to the next, and so on. The LED printer, however, does not move at all. This means less power used, which makes it cheaper to operate and friendlier to the environment. It also makes the LED printer safer to operate.
How the LED Printer Works
Both the LED printer as well as the true laser printer relies on the same technology as used in the first photocopy machines. The process is called "electrophotography." It was first created in the 1930s and was developed by Canon and Xerox in the late 1980s.
There are six steps involved in the LED printer's printing process. First, the photoconductor (a photosensitive surface) is charged with static electricity. This photoconductor is then exposed to an image and forms an invisible image.
The image is develops by the spreading of a fine powder called toner over the surface. This powder sticks only to the charged areas, which makes the invisible image visible. Next, an electrostatic field takes this image and transfers it to a photosensitive sheet of paper. After this, the image is permanently affixed to the paper by using heat and pressure to fuse the toner to the paper.
In the final step, the excess toner as well as electrostatic charges is cleaned from the photoconductor, getting it prepared for the next cycle.
Resolution
LED printers come in a variety of resolutions. For instance, those with a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) must by definition also have 300 LEDs per inch. The printer with 600 dpi must have 600 LEDs, and so on. Today, many LED printers have a resolution as high as 600 by 1200 dpi. This means the vertical resolution is 1200, while the horizontal is 600. This is more than adequate for almost all print jobs, making the LED printer a perfect choice for you if you need high quality prints done at low cost.
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