Chester Carlson and Xerography

Inside every copier and laser printer is a light-sensitive surface called a photoreceptor. It consists of a thin layer of photoconductive material that is applied to a flexible belt or drum. The photoreceptor is insulating in the dark, but becomes conducting when it is exposed to light. It is charged in the dark by applying a high DC voltage to adjacent wires, which produces an intense electric field near the wires that causes the air molecules to ionise. Ions of the same polarity as the voltage on the wires deposit on the photoreceptor's surface, creating an electric field across it.

In a digital copier or printer, the image is exposed on the photoreceptor with a scanning modulated laser or a light-emitting-diode image bar. In older analog copiers, reflected light from an illuminated image is projected onto the photoreceptor. In either case, the areas of the photoreceptor exposed to light are selectively discharged, causing a reduction in the electric field. The darker areas retain their charge.

Pigmented powder used to develop the image is called toner. Toner particles made of colourant and plastic resin have precisely controlled electrostatic properties and range from about five to 10 micrometers in diameter. They are mixed with and charged by magnetised carrier beads that transport them to the development zone. The particles are charged by the phenomenon of triboelectricity (often referred to as static electricity). The electric field associated with the charge pattern of the image on the photoreceptor exerts an electrostatic force on the charged toner, which adheres to the image. A colour document is formed by a printer with four separate xerographic units that create and develop separate cyan, magenta, yellow and black images. The superposition of these powder images produces full-colour documents.

The powder image is transferred from the photoreceptor onto paper by bringing the paper in contact with the toner and then applying a charge with polarity opposite to that of the toner. The charge must be strong enough to overcome the powder's adhesion to the photoreceptor. A second precisely controlled charge releases the paper, now containing the image, from the photoreceptor.

In the fusing process, the toner comprising the image is melted and bonded to the paper. This is accomplished by passing the paper through a pair of rollers. A heated roll melts the toner, which is fused to the paper with the aid of pressure from the second roll.

Toner transfer from the photoreceptor to the paper is not 100 percent efficient, and residual toner must be removed from the photoreceptor before the next print cycle. Most medium- and high-speed copiers and printers accomplish this with a rotating brush cleaner.