Laser printers

Laser printing technology is quite old when measured by the development time of the high technologies themselves. The first laser printer was developed in 1971. The result of this work was an increase in printing speed, an improvement in the quality of the print and multimillion-dollar profits of companies. The first laser printers cost more than $17 thousand and weighed a lot more than 40 kg, and most importantly - only monochrome prints were output. Today, anyone can purchase a light color printer.

Technology

The basis of laser printing technology is the principle of electrostatic transfer. If you do not go into the process technology, then briefly everything happens as follows: a photosensitive layer is applied to a pre-charged drum, which changes charge under the influence of light. Due to the potential difference in those places where the laser beam did not pass, toner is attracted. The next step is the transfer of dye from the drum to paper, and it also occurs due to the difference in charge between the drum and toner. After that, a sheet of paper with "adhered" dry paint enters the furnace, where the toner melts and is embedded in the paper fibers. The result is a print that cannot be washed away, unlike prints made on inkjet printers.

Color laser printing does not differ fundamentally from the one described above. When sending text or a picture to print, a special rendering engine divides the picture into color components, creating several images for each color. Most laser printers use four separate passes when each color is applied sequentially, and then a sheet of paper is fed into the "stove." Due to the use laser in lighting the drum, high resolution can be achieved. In addition, the application of the technology improves the quality of the print, reduces the cost of each sheet and increases the operating time from one refill. cartridge

Prices for laser printers

As already noted, the price of laser printers in recent years has begun to fall rapidly. In 2004, for one of the cheapest laser printers, the buyer was forced to give an average of $250-300, while today most budget models of this class are estimated at no more than $160 - $170. However, the price range of laser printers varies significantly for "home" and "office models." Entry-level printers are aimed primarily at individual users, in addition, such devices are optimal for small offices, where there is a need for regular printing of black and white documents in small volumes. A printer resource is the main indicator of a printer belonging to a class. Unlike huge and powerful office "monsters," entry-level "lasers" are designed to print up to 7,000-15,000 sheets per month, and the manufacturer's recommended load is usually up to 1,000 sheets. It is easy to calculate that the recommended load does not exceed 35 sheets per day, and the maximum ranges from 230 to 500 sheets. Such capabilities are quite enough for small offices and, especially, for home users, who extremely rarely go beyond even the recommended load. As the load increases, toner is consumed faster, and the photobarabane is worn out faster.

Main characteristics

Permission of the press It is measured in dpi, i.e. dpi, and is typically 600x600, 1200x1200. This resolution ensures high-quality printing of text documents, as well as contrast graphics. Many models have proprietary software interpolation systems for outputting images up to 1200 and even 2400 dots per inch (dpi). In most cases, these modes really improve the quality of printing: for example, letters typed with a small kegl become clearer due to the absence of "fringe." However, hardware values, of course, do not reach such printers. Sometimes there are inexpensive "lasers" with real 1200 dpi, but this is more of an exception than a rule.

First Page Exit Time This indicator is more important for "home" models, since office printers mainly work constantly in on mode. The best samples give out the first page in less than 7 seconds from the moment of inclusion, and the average for this class of machines is about 10-15 seconds. The reason for the delay in printing the first page is purely technological: in order to attach the toner to paper, a heating element ("stove") is used, and it takes time to warm the "stove" to the operating temperature.

Maximum print speed This indicator also varies depending on the printer class: for home models - 15-20 pages per minute, for office and production - from 20 - 25.

To print complex texts with graphic elements, you need to pay attention to the presence of built-in memory, as well as the possibility of its expansion. The vast majority of budget models are equipped with 8-16 megabytes of memory without the possibility of expansion, so if you plan to print a lot of graphics, models with 32 and 64 MB of RAM are needed.

Interface Once the printers were equipped with a standard parallel LPT port, now the vast majority of models are connected through a universal USB connector. Of course, the speed and stability of the printer does not depend on the interface, but compatibility with other devices cannot be neglected.

Operating systems It is clear that all printers focus on working in Windows, but in the modern world, often this is not enough for users. Many need the printer to run on other operating systems, such as Mac OS, Linux, or DOS. To do this, you need to carefully look at the description: usually it indicates the ability of the printer to work on less common operating systems.

As for the dimensions of laser printers, there is nothing mysterious: office models have a large capacity of paper trays and a larger number of them. Which gives the model additional weight and dimensions.

Additional options Various additional options that add price to the printer are saturated, mainly office models. This includes a liquid crystal display, network interfaces, additional trays, and a paper feeder.

When choosing the optimal laser printer, it is necessary to imagine what and in what volumes it is necessary to print. The difference in the price of home and office models is calculated, first of all, at the cost of each printed sheet when converted to the declared loads. A large printer for the house is money to the wind, and a mistake in the opposite direction threatens to extremely quickly break the printer due to overloads. And, of course, printing text and graphics is not the same thing, printers that can work with a large number of formats and information also add monetary units to the price tag of the product.

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What you need to know about the laser printer

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