A laser printer utilizes laser technology to produce extremely high quality printed results, both in black and in color depending on the model of printer purchased. Many high end laser printers that are used for commercial purposes can easily turn out in excess of 200 high quality prints every minute when the job calls for black toner and perhaps half of that for colored prints. It is the fast speed and the high quality results that make them extremely popular for larger offices but slower units which obviously cost less are available for use in the home or small office.
Unlike an inkjet printer which uses an ink filled cartridge, a laser printer uses discount toner cartridges. The inkjet printer places the ink directly on the paper under command from the computer; this is not the case with a laser printer. The drum of a laser printer is electrically charged, the image of what is to be printed is projected onto the drum. Those surfaces on the drum that are exposed to the laser lose their electric charge, the surfaces of the drum that keep their charge picks up the ink which is dry, this ink is actually called toner and is delivered in discount toner cartridges. The toner fuses to the surface of the paper using heat, this happens as the paper passes over the rotating drum. The result is a perfect print.
A laser printer gives superior printing results and quality than does an inkjet printer and a laser printer is an ideal printer for office use, however it is limited to small print jobs. The reason the output must be limited is due to the fact that the entire printing job is stored in the printer memory. This is necessary for the print job to be recreated by the electrostatic image that shows up on the rotating printer drum. An inkjet printer does not work like this, the ink is deposited in rows so if the print job is large the print process can automatically be stopped for a moment while the printer receives a new batch of information from the computer, in this way an inkjet printer can print large jobs such as posters and banners.
