Laser Parts
Glossary
Charge Assembly (AKA
corona assembly)
There are two styles of charge assemblies. The newer
type uses a charge roller (PCR),
while the older type uses a very fine wire. The charge
roller or wire charges the drum, which is necessary to
attract the toner to the drum.
Doctor Blade
The Doctor blade lies between the magnetic roller and
the toner hopper. The placement of this blade regulates
how much toner is fed from the toner hopper to the
magnetic roller. Too little toner results in a light
print, while too much toner can cause excessively dark
prints and possibly leakage.
Drum
The drum is a specially coated cylinder. The coating is
either an organic or a synthetic photoconductor, which
carries the toner image to the paper. It takes most
drums 3 rotations to cover a single sheet of paper.
Felt Wand
This plastic wand is located in the fuser section of the
laser printer. The felt wand keeps the upper fuser
roller clean with its high temperature felt.
Magnetic
Roller
The magnetic roller picks up the toner from the toner
hopper and transfers it onto the drum.
MICR toner
MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. This
is a specialized toner used for printing checks.
OEM
Cartridge
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. An OEM printing cartridge is a brand new genuine brand
printing cartridge, made
by the manufacturer of the laser machine.
PCR (Primary Charge
Roller)
This rubber roller is located inside the toner print cartridge. It has two tasks: to place the primary charge
on the drum and erase any residual charge from the
previous pass.
Recovery Blade
The recovery blade lies on the opposite side of the
waste bin as the wiper blade. This thin mylar strip lies
against the length of the drum. Toner scraped from the
drum by the wiper blade falls onto the recovery blade,
which guides it into the waste chamber. If the recovery
blade is nicked, scratched or damaged in any way, the toner will fall instead onto the paper.
Remanufactured
Cartridge
A used toner print cartridge that has been recycled with
toner. In
some cases, some of the internal laser cartridge components will also be
replaced.
Seal
Seals are used to prevent toner spillage during
transportation or shipping. The seal is placed between
the hopper and the magnetic roller, and then removed
prior to installation and use.
Toner
Toner is made up of microfine particles of carbon, iron
and plastic. The size of the particles depends on the required
DPI. Toner is available in premetered bottles or in 22lb
(10kg) bags. Our toner bottles contain enough toner for
one printing cartridge refill.
Wiper Blade
The wiper blade scrapes the left over toner from the
drum, and drops it in the waste chamber. It is a
polyurethane strip that spans the length of drum above
the waste bin. If this blade is nicked, scratched or
damaged in any way, unwanted toner will be allowed to
pass through and will appear as a faint image on the
next section of the page printed.
For a light-hearted
introduction to the various internal laser cartridge components and how they
interact within the printing cartridge, please see The
Toner of Peyton Place.
