All About Laser Printers (Installing Toner Kits, Cartridges, and Drum Units)

08 Sep 2010

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	All About Laser Printers (Installing Toner Kits, Cartridges, and Drum Units)

Solution Updated at 9:49am 5/21/08

How does a laser printer work?
A laser printing process starts with the memorizing of a pattern in which the laser is going to “cut” the desired image(s). A corona wire or primary charge roller gives a negative electrical charge to all of the ions on the surface of a rotating drum unit. The laser then cuts the predetermined pattern into the charged ions by neutralizing them. These cuts will eventually become letters, words, etc. Electrically charged toner then fills in the cuts made by the laser. As the drum continues to rotate the toner is then pressed onto a sheet of paper. The paper then passes through a heated roller, which bonds the toner to the paper. After cleaning excess toner off the page, your printed sheet is complete.

What is a drum unit?
A drum unit is a device inside a laser printer that creates print on the paper. It is electrically charged and discharged for every new sheet of paper it prints.

What is toner?
Toner is fine particles of plastic powder mixed with carbon black or coloring agents. These particles are the ink that you see on your finished sheet of paper.

>>>All laser printers use a drum unit and toner. Some printers require you to purchase them as separate components, some do not.

>>>When purchasing for a printer which takes a drum and toner as separate commodities, you will see product names like “drum unit” and “toner kit.” On these printers, the toner kit will typically need replacing every 2,000-5,000 pages. The drum unit will typically need replacing every 10,000-20,000 pages.

>>>When purchasing for a printer which takes a drum and toner as a single unit, you will see a product name like “toner cartridge.” A toner cartridge will typically need replacing anywhere from 2,000-10,000 pages, depending on the size of the unit and the amount of toner provided.

Installation
•Brother: Shake toner side to side lightly to move toner evenly throughout the cartridge. Remove plastic shipping clip. Pull plastic strip off and install.
•All other toners: Shake toner side to side lightly to move toner evenly throughout the cartridge. Pull plastic strip off

>>>Toner Kit
Installation
1. Before opening the protection bag of the new toner shake it vertically more than 5 times
2. Remove the new toner cartridge for the bag. Peel off the seal
3. Lift open the front cover holding “OPEN”. Make sure you don’t touch the fuser unit it may be hot.
4. Tap on the used toner cartridge several times to allow the remaining toner to fall into the drum unit. Remove the drum and toner unit.
5. Turn the two levers on the used toner cartridge firmly, until the triangles match.
6. Remove the cartridge
7. Place the new toner cartridge into the drum unit vertically
8. Firmly press down on the toner cartridge to snap into position
9. Turn the two levers on the toner cartridge firmly.
10. Make sure the triangles match, to install the toner cartridge correctly.
11. Install the drum and toner unit.
12. Close the front cover by pushing down on both sides until locked.

>>>Drums
Installation
•On most drums there is nothing to remove.
•Remove it from the package and install

Identifying problems with Toners
1. If the page is completely covered with toner or speckled, there is a toner leak
2. If there is a line in the middle or left and right sides of the page that was just printed, there is a problem with the drum.
3. If the print comes out faded or light, there is a problem with the toner.
a.There is no current trouble shooting other than the installation to make these toners work. Just go over the installation with the customer or replace the toner.

If you need further assistance, please send us an email from Support Suite or you can call us toll free at 888-465-7765, Monday through Friday, 6am-5pm PST.

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21 May 2008 09:02 AM