Ten years ago, a majority of the world was still using inkjet printers in their home and offices. These printing devices had many flaws, but ink printers were extremely affordable, so it made the most sense for a business or home to purchase this printer as opposed to a Laserjet printer. A laser printer is considered much more intricate of a process than that of an ink printer. When comparing the intricacies of toner and fast printing, it makes sense to consider a laser printer as the superior and significantly more complicated machine. With recent price drops in the industry, it is much more affordable to purchase a laser printer, so there has been a notable increase in sales.
Laser printers have a significantly higher output than ink printers, so it is no surprise that laser printers have consistently been gaining popularity since their inception. Laser printers are innovative because they use toner as opposed to ink. Toner is a powder that is used to form the printed text and images onto each piece of paper. Toner is a combination of carbon powder and a polymer. The toner particles are melted by the heat of the fuser and bonded to the paper. The specific polymer that is used in toner varies on the manufacturer of the product. Typically, the polymer used is styrene acrylate copolymer. This is combined with a polymer resin, a styrene butadiene copolymer, or other special ingredients. Toner formulas can vary per manufacturer or even per machine.
At the beginning, toner would have a particle size of fourteen to sixteen micrometers. In order to improve image resolution, the particle size was reduced. Today, toner has a particle size of eight to ten micrometers. There are studies being performed today to further reduce particle size in order to improve resolution and printing. Toner manufacturers maintain a high level of quality control for particle size distribution. Traditionally, toner was created by compounding all of the ingredients and creating a fine powder. This process resulted in toner granules with varying sizes and spherical shapes.
In earlier designs, toner was in a liquid form and had to be poured by the user into a reservoir in the machine. To improve efficiency and consumer use, toner is directly fed to the printer by a toner cartridge. These cartridges can be purchased directly from the manufacturer or from a third party supplier. Toner cartridges supplied by third parties are typically reconstructed from old and new parts. These old parts are from the cartridges produced by the OEM. A HP 3600 toner cartridge that was produced by Hewlett Packard, purchased and used by a consumer, and recycled can now be used to create a remanufactured cartridge to be sold to another consumer. This circle of life benefits the environment and allows for the everyday consumer to purchase a brand name toner cartridge for their printer without having to spend a large amount of money. Remanufactured cartridges are typically priced at half the cost of the OEM toner cartridge. Due to this price discrepancy, many consumers have begun to purchase the lower priced option.
A remanufactured Phaser 6130 toner cartridge can be purchased for fifteen dollars from some online suppliers. The OEM charges $84.00 for the same quality toner cartridge. This is a major price discrepancy. A consumer can purchase all four color toners needed to operate this printer for $60.00 if they purchase a remanufactured cartridge, or they can pay $336.00 for the four cartridges they need by purchasing it from the OEM. In the end, a consumer will have to make a tough decision, but saving three hundred dollars might convince them to purchase the remanufactured cartridges.
