3.7 Printers Flashcards
Laser Printer
- prints using laser, heat and toner
- many moving parts
- fast and high quality
Imaging Drum
- image is drawn into a photosensitive drum with a laser
- drum picks up the toner
- can be its own printer part or integrated to the toner cartridge
Fuser Assembly
- uses heat and pressure to melt toner onto the paper
Transfer Belt and Roller
- rotating belt that feeds paper to the imaging drum and uses negative charge to transfer the toner to the paper
Pickup Roller
- picks up a single paper and feeds it into the printer
Separation Pad
- prevents multiple sheets from being picked up
Duplex Assembly
- flips paper when printing on both side
- can be built in or an add on
Laser Printing Process
- Processing: send data to the printer
- Charging: charge roller provides negative charge to the imaging drum
- Exposing: laser draws image onto the drum. The laser creates a positive charge
- Developing: negatively charged toner attaches to the positively charged sections of the drum
- Transferring: transfers the toner onto the paper
- Fusing: fuser melts the toner onto the paper
- Cleaning: cleans excess toner off the drum
Replacing Toner Cartridges
- power down printer before installation
- many toner cartridges contain an imaging drum
- removing packing strips from the new drum
Laser Printer Maintenance Kit
- purchase from manufacturer
- contains new parts: feed roller, fuser unit, etc.
- printer will inform user when maintenance is required
Laser Printer Callibration
- different toner cartridges print with different densities
- calibration can adjust the density
- can be automated or done manually
Laser Printer Cleaning
- check manufacturer manual
- safe to use water and/or isopropyl alcohol
- clean with damp cloth and/or a vacuum specifically for cleaning toner
Inkjet Printer
- prints using ink cartridges
- cheaper printer but expensive ink
- proprietary cartridges
- clogs easily
- ink fades
- mainly for home use
Ink Cartridge
- cyan, magenta, yellow, black
- place drops of ink onto a page
Print Head
- uses tiny nozzles to spray or drop ink onto the paper
Feed Rollers
- pick up paper and feed through the printer
- duplexing is available on some printets
Carriage Belt
- cartridges are placed in a carriage connected to a belt
- belt moves the carriage back and forth while the cartridges drop ink onto the paper
Inkjet Printer Maintenance
- clean printer heads to prevent clogging (many printers automatically clean)
- replace cartridges
- calibration: align nozzles to the paper
- clear paper jams
Thermal Printer
- uses heat to print
- special paper turns black when heated
- most commonly used for receipts
Thermal Printer Parts
Feed Assembly
- long cylinder that pulls paper through the printer
Heating Element
- full-length heating element
- heats certain sections of the papet
Thermal Paper Maintenance
- paper replacement, check size
- clean with isopropyl alcohol
- cleaning card can go through the printer to clean the head and paper pathway
- use compressed air or damp cloth to clean debris
Impact Printer
Aka dot-matrix printer
- print head has a small matrix of pins
- pins press against a ink ribbon to mark the paper
- multiple copies can be printed simultaneously (usually with carbon paper)
- low cost
- poor graphics
- niche uses
Impact Printer Parts
Printer Head
- contains the pins that hit the ink ribbon
- moves back and forth across paper
- integrated heat sink
Printer Ribbon
- contains ink, transfers ink to paper when pressed by the pins
- proprietary size, easy to replace
Tractor Feed
- commonly used by impact printers
- uses holes on the side of the paper to pull it through the printer
- tractor paper is continuous folded paper with perforations
Impact Printer Maintenance
- printer ribbon replacement
- print head replacement
- replacing paper
3D Printer
- creates a 3D item based on an electronic model
- build the objects in layers
Filament 3D Printing
Fused Deposition Modeling
- melt filament together as thin layers
- most common type of 3D printing
- easy to manage, minimal mess
- large print bed
Resin Printing
Stereolithography 3D Printing
- smoother and more detailed than filament printing
- liquid resin is hardened using a light source
- object is hanging from the build platform
- layers are added to the bottom
- resin must be handled with protective gear and disposed at a hazardous materials disposal
3D Print Bed
- flat adhesive surface on which the 3D print is built on
