Laser printers are a popular choice for many business owners. They often boast higher speeds, better quality printing, and lower cost per page. However, one area of concern for laser printers is their drum life. A laser printer has a drum that is built into its toner cartridge. The drum itself wears out and is replaced every few thousand pages. This blog will look at which laser printers have drums built into the toner cartridges, how this impacts the price of the printer, and how you can extend the drum life.
Some laser printers contain the drum unit inside the toner cartridge. This allows the user to replace toner without the need to replace the drum unit as well. The advantage of this design is a reduction in the cost of the printer. As a result, the design of the printer is simpler, more compact, and cheaper to manufacture. The downside is a higher cost per page as the drum unit is a consumable part.
It was reported that Brother, Canon, and HP were building drums into the toner. But it was no more true. However, Brother is said to be the only brand that has drums built into the toner. This can help to save costs. The laser printer will stop immediately once the toner supply is out of order. Most of the printer manufacturers are doing this to save cost, but there will be some companies that do not put drums into the toner.
What is a drum?
A drum is a cylindrical component of a laser printer that is coated with a photosensitive material. The drum is charged uniformly, then exposed to the laser beam to produce an electrostatic latent image on the drum surface. The latent image on the drum then becomes visible and is developed by toner. The toner adheres to the areas of the drum exposed by the laser beam and is transferred to the paper.
How many pages can a drum print?
In theory, there is no limit to the number of pages a drum printer can print. However, the more pages printed in a single job, the higher the risk of an error occurring. Most drum printer users print between 5,000 and 10,000 pages at a time. Since the copy is printed all at once, there is no need to change the drum and toner. The paper is fed in the same way, and thus the fourth copy is achieved by simply repeating the same process. Therefore, the most popular process is “one page per copy” which is the most reliable. The maximum number of printed pages is usually specified as the number of pages that can be printed without damaging the drum unit.
What does printer drum life mean?
A printer drum is a component that contains toner and transfers it onto the page. It is located inside the printer and is easily replaced when it runs out of toner. According to printer manufacturers, the printer drum should last approximately 15,000 pages. This is equivalent to 6 months of printing, or 15,000 A4 pages. It must be noted that toner is consumed even when the printer is turned off, so it is impossible for the printer drum to last that long. Your printer will indicate when it is time to replace the printer drum and you should always follow printer manufacturers’ instructions.
How to clean laser printer drum?
A laser printer drum is an essential part of the machine. It is a concave cylindrical surface that retains the toner from a laser printer. Usually, the machine uses a laser beam to print the information on a sheet of paper. The laser beam is reflected by the drum into the paper to form an image. When the printer is idle for a long period of time, a layer of toner build-up usually occurs on the drum surface. Therefore, proper cleaning of the drum surface is essential. So how to clean a laser printer drum? A laser printer drum cleaner is used to clean the drum from the toner. This machine is designed by using the pads that suck the toner from the drum. The pads are mounted on a rotating unit to clean the drum. The pads can be reused after cleaning the toner. However, you should not clean the drum with a cloth or tissue as it might scratch the drum surface.
To clean the drum of your laser printer, you can use regular isopropyl alcohol. You just need to follow the steps below:
- Remove the drum unit from the printer.
- Dip a lint-free cloth into clean isopropyl alcohol.
- Rub the cloth against the drum unit.
- You may have to clean the cloth as it becomes dirty.
- You may have to rub the drum unit multiple times.
- After cleaning the drum unit, wipe the cloth on a copy of the printed pages. If you are able to remove the ink stains from the pages, then you have cleaned the drum unit successfully. If not, then you will need to clean the drum unit again with more isopropyl alcohol.
Conclusion
So, you may be asking why you should care. Well, not only does having a built-in drum mean that you don’t have to replace your drum, but also that you don’t have to buy new toner every time you run out of ink. This increases the cost-effectiveness of owning a laser printer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all laser printers have a drum?
No, not all laser printers have a drum. In the old days, all printers used a drum to store the toner. Nowadays, most laser printers can use a laser optical engine instead of a toner. Laser printers are more popular than ever, and the good news is that they can be a bit cheaper than inkjet printers. The bad news is that most of them are still not very cheap.
Does HP toner come with a drum?
yes, it does come with the drum. However, the drum may not be new because the printer will take in used drums for replacing the new ones. Tip: The drum is a consumable part of the toner cartridge and cannot be re-filled. If you are willing to upgrade your printer, you can buy an HP 78A toner cartridge. The printer will work with both new and re-filled HP 78A toner cartridges. This means you can print more before the cartridge needs to be replaced.
How long does a laser printer drum last?
The toner cartridge and drum kit are consumable items. The drum of a laser printer has a life expectancy of 10,000 print-outs. This means that if you print 10,000 pages initially, the drum will typically last around three years. For those who print pages sparingly, the drum will last much longer. Just because the drum has been used up doesn’t necessarily mean that the toner cartridge is also empty. Laser printers have an optical sensor that detects when the toner has reached a certain level and sends a message to the computer. It is, therefore, possible to have a toner cartridge with almost empty toner but with a new drum. If you are not sure how long the drum has been used, you can check the drum counter in the printer’s firmware. In most cases, the printer will display a drum counter on the LCD screen. The drum counter is typically a 4-digit number and is reset to zero every time a new drum is installed. The printer also has a hardware counter which is an encoded resistor that increments each time the drum is used.
What is the difference between an imaging drum and a toner cartridge?
Imaging drum and toner cartridge are two parts of a laser printer that are used to create the printed output. The imaging drum is like a photocopy drum and is responsible for creating the image on paper. The toner cartridge is like the toner cartridge of other printers and is responsible for depositing the toner onto the paper and creating the images.
