Toner is a powder used in laser printers and photocopiers to form the printed text and images on the paper. In its early form it was simply carbon powder. Then, to improve the quality of the printout, the carbon was melt-mixed with a polymer. Toner particles are melted by the heat of the fuser, and bind to the paper.
In earlier machines, toner was poured by the user from a bottle into a reservoir in the machine. Modern machines feed directly from a cartridge. Empty cartridges are sometimes refilled by third party vendors. Modern toners intended for use in color copiers and printers come in Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow.
The specific polymer used varies by manufacturer but can be a styrene acryl ate copolymer, a polyester resin, a styrene butadiene copolymer, or a few other special polymers. Toner formulations vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from machine to machine. Typically formulation, granule size and melting point vary the most.
Toner can be washed off skin and garments with cold water. Hot or warm water softens the toner, causing it to bond in place. Toner fused to skin eventually wears off, or can be partially removed using an abrasive hand cleaner. Toner fused to clothing usually cannot be removed.
Toner particles have electrostatic properties by design and can develop static-electric charges when they rub against other particles, objects, or the interiors of transport systems and vacuum hoses. Because of this and the small particle size, toner should not be vacuumed with a conventional home vacuum cleaner. Static discharge from charged toner particles can ignite dust in the vacuum cleaner bag or create a small explosion if sufficient toner is airborne. This may damage the vacuum cleaner or start a fire. Toner particles are so fine that they are poorly filtered by household vacuum cleaner filter bags and can blow through the vacuum motor or into the room.
A handy tip with laser toner is to not replace your laser toner cartridge at the first sign of streaks on your paper. Many people think they should immediately replace their laser toner cartridge when they see a light streak on their paper. Take it out of your printer and gently shake it several times. Your laser toner cartridge usually has 10% of its toner still intact. By gently shaking it, you can get additional pages of quality print. Repeat this process until you can no longer print, then replace the toner cartridge. We carry refurbished laser cartridges, laser toner recharge kits and bottles of laser toner for most laser printers, copiers and faxes. We can also supply you with genuine brand replacement print cartridges and brand name printer consumables. If there is anything you do not see in our store, do not hesitate to call and inquire. For more information on methods for laser print cartridge recharging.