Choose a Printer: Laser Printers

Like most things in life, the dot-making technologies used in the different types of printers have pluses and minuses. Each technology is good in its own way, but different types of printers are best for certain kinds of applications, and no one technology is best for all applications.

Dot size and pattern are major factors in our visual response to printed images. We tend to like images better as the dots move closer together. This spacing between the dots is called "print density." However, there is far more to printing technology than patterns, print density, and dot size. It's in your interest to know a lot more - particularly, the types of printing jobs each technology can handle.

In plain words, what follows explains what each of the printer technologies can do for you.

What laser printers are good for

Laser printers make very small dots and place them very close together. Typical laser printers provide dot spacing between 300 and 1200 dots per inch (dpi). Laser printers are very popular, because when the dot spacing gets up to 300 dpi or higher the printed images look crisp and sharp to our eyes. Laser printers offer great versatility for your printing jobs. They can easily print applications ranging from bar coded labels to MIS reports.

How laser printers work

Generally, "laser" printers use either multiple LED's or a laser beam as the light source to help make the dots. Dot size and resolution, however, are only part of the laser printing story. The toner used by laser printers in making the dots needs to be "fused" to the paper so the dots won't rub off. Fusing the toner can be done in several ways: heat-pressure fusing, cold-pressure fusing, or flash fusing.

Heat-pressure fusing and flash fusing are most common with laser printers. Heat-pressure fusing melts and presses the toner onto the page, though the right kind of paper must be used. With heat-pressure fusing, paper is subjected to temperatures in the 300° to 400° F range, which can damage certain types of paper or create other problems. For example, wax-backed pressure sensitive labels can melt, causing label "float" or adhesives can melt and gum up the printer. Using laser quality media can alleviate these problems.

Cold-pressure fusing, as the name implies, fuses the toner to the page with pressure, but without heat. The major advantage of cold-pressure fusing is its low cost. Though cold-pressure printers have fewer moving parts and longer lives than other lasers, the relatively high pressure they use in the transfixing process prints somewhat glossy images. Commonly, those images are not durable and may eventually rub off.

Flash fusing fixes the toner onto the page with high intensity lamps, whose light energy is absorbed by the toner, causing it to melt and adhere to the page. Unlike other laser fusing technologies, no heat or pressure is applied. This is an important difference because it places fewer restrictions on the types of media that can be run through the printer. You don't need to worry about glue melting or related problems. More advanced flash fusing printers are able to fuse toner onto many synthetic materials such as mylar and plastic cards in addition to a wide range of paper stocks.

Two types of laser printers

There are two types of laser printers - continuous form laser printers and cut sheet laser printers. Your choice will depend upon the requirements of your print job.

Continuous form laser printers

Continuous form laser printers are best suited to production print runs that require laser quality output. Continuous form lasers can also provide a straight paper path with pin-feed tractors that give highly accurate paper control. Continuous form laser printers are superior for applications that require tight forms registration. And the power stacking of continuous forms laser printers make them suitable for unattended production runs, where they are dedicated to specific types of print jobs.

Cut sheet laser printers

Cut sheet printing, which uses friction feed to advance the paper, is more common in desktop printers that run a variety of media, such as letterhead, envelopes, and transparencies, for print jobs shared in an office environment.

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