A laser printer is a page printer. It produces a finished page on each cycle. This is in
contrast to the other types of printers that print single characters (daisy wheel, dot matrix)
or all or part of a line of print (line printer, inkjet) on each cycle. A laser printer produces
all the text and graphics of one full page at one time. It is a cut-sheet printer; its paper supply
is a stack of individual sheets of paper. It cannot handle multipart forms or any type of
continuous forms. However, it can produce the pages of a completed multipart form on
separate sheets with the right software.
The processes used to form the page to be printed are essentially the same as used for
the inkjet printer, with some minor differences that are explained later.Laser Printer Technologies
Laser printers use three different printing processes to produce a printed page. Each of
the technologies in use is directly attributable to one or more laser printer or photocopier
manufacturer(s): Electrophotographic (EP) process The EP process, developed by Xerox and
Canon, was the first laser printer technology used. It is the print process used
by virtually all laser printers in one form or another. Its characteristics are the
use of a laser beam to produce an electrostatic charge and a dry toner to create(^424) PC Hardware: A Beginner’s Guide
Figure 17-13. A laser printer. Photo courtesy of Lexmark International, Inc.