What Is the Difference Between LED and Laser Printers?

10/28/09

What is the Difference between LED and Laser Printers?

Both LED and Laser printers are examples of electrophotographic technology. LED (Light Emitting Diode) print heads use a single, pixel-size, light source to recreate images. This beam emanates from a stationary array containing thousands of LED’s.

Light from each LED passes through a focusing lense onto an image drum that serves as a photoreceptor.

Toner is attracted to this image and transferred to the paper. (Fig. 1) Laser print heads also use a single light source. However, the laser beam is aimed at a revolving mirror that reflects it through a series of lenses, off a mirror and finally to an image drum.

Lasers produce similar results as LED's but have many more moving parts.

(Fig. 2-below)

Given the number of moving parts, Laser Printers can be costly and time-consuming to repair- a problem that Oki Data customers don’t face.

Oki Data's toner-based printers use LED technology. We are so confident in the reliability of our printers that we offer a 5-year print head warranty, the longest in the industry and much longer than the typical one-year on laser print heads.

Mike Boudreau

Ref. OkiDoc 1644

10/28/09