Copier Toner

Many of us often refer to toner as dry ink. The truth is that toner has nothing to do with ink (a pigmented liquid) at all. Toner is a powder that is plastic-based and negatively charged. The blackness of copier toner comes from pigments blended into the plastic particles while being manufactured. In a copier, the toner stored inside a cartridge is stuck on larger, positively charged beads. As toner-coated beads are made to roll over the drum, the toner particles are more attracted by the positively charged ions on the unexposed areas on the drum’s surface than the weakly charged beads. Later, the same particles are attracted even more towards the electro-statically charged paper. The plastic in the toner lets the user keep it from jumping ship once he/she has finally got it on the paper. Now all that is needed is to apply heat to the toner. Once the temperature rises, the plastic particles melt and fuse the pigment to the paper. The fuser adds the finishing touch.