Copier Toner

Many of us often refer to toner as dry ink. The truth isThe fuser adds the finishing touches, to lend
that toner has nothing to do with ink (a pigmented liquid)permanency to the toner image on a sheet of paper. It
at all. Toner, in reality, is a powder that is plastic-basedhas to perform two jobs. First, it has to melt and press
and negatively charged. The blackness of copier tonerthe toner image into the paper. Second, it has to stop
comes from pigments blended into the plastic particlesthe melted toner and/or the paper from sticking to the
while being manufactured.fuser.
In a copier, the toner stored inside a cartridge is stuckIn order to perform these tasks, quartz tube lamps and
on larger, positively charged beads. As toner-coatedTeflon-coated rollers are required. First, the sheet of
beads are made to roll over the drum, the tonerpaper is sent between two of the rollers. Following it,
particles are more attracted by the positively chargedthe rollers are gently pressed down on the page to
ions on the unexposed areas on the drum's surfaceembed the toner in the paper fiber.
than the weakly charged beads. Later, the sameIn the meantime, the lamps are on inside the rollers,
particles are attracted even more towards theproducing sufficient heat to melt the toner. The toner,
electro-statically charged paper. The plastic in the tonerhowever, does not melt onto the rollers. How? The
lets the user keep it from jumping ship once he/sheTeflon coating on the rollers prevents the toner and
has finally got it on the paper. Now all that is needed ispaper from sticking to them, just as the non-stick
to apply heat to the toner. Once the temperature rises,coating that prevents your favorite omelet from
the plastic particles melt and fuse the pigment to thebecoming glued to the bottom of your frying pan.
paper.