7. TIPS & TECHNIQUES ON COLOR LASER PRINTING
As the color laser printer price drops, the volume of sales has increased. But although many users know a fair bit on ink jet printer, not many know about color laser printing. This article attempts to fill the knowledge gap.
For a start, the technique used for in a color laser printer is different from an ink jet printer. The ink jet printer uses water-based ink to put on the media. The color laser printer uses toner and it uses heat, oil and pressure to fuse to toner to the media. A laser output is waterproof as such.
The media used plays an important part. If the paper is extra white and smooth, the output from the color laser printer will be better. Typically, photocopying paper is not that smooth and the quality of print may not be that good. The weight of the paper counts also. 80 gram paper is best. If the weight of the paper is too light, it can be stuck in the drum. Some users have experienced 70 gram paper getting stuck in a color laser printer. This is like paper getting stuck in a photocopying machine.
If the weight of the paper is heavier, like 120 gram, the toner may not be fused properly to the heavy paper. A rub will see the toners dropping off. The trick is to set the properties of the printer to thick stock. Basically, it means that the paper is thicker than usual (like certificates) and more heat need to be applied to fuse the toner to the heavy paper. Technically, the engine just moves the paper at a slower speed through the fusing station.
At times, the colors may be off. The print driver has features that can adjust the various colors like cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This is because different media may have different texture and the fusing of the toner may vary. The print driver allows for fine-tuning.
Once a user outputs in color, especially with prints downloaded from the net, moving back to monochrome is like moving back in time. Hopefully, this article has given a few pointers on printing on a color laser printer.