How Does Printer Toner Work: Organic Photoconductor Drum

Each component inside a laser printer has its own mission to work together and deliver various prints. You can see the whole picture from our previous article: How Does Printer Toner Work?. Here, the main character in this article will be the Organic Photoconductor Drum, commonly abbreviated to OPC.

OPC drum is a critical component of a printer or copier that impacts the image printing performance. Its main function is to receive and form an image by the characteristic of electrical properties.

A typical OPC drum consists of

A.  A metal tube made of aluminum. Most OPC manufacturers produce a mirror-like surface through diamond turning. 

B.  Charge Generation Layer (CGL):

It offers the capability of polarity to the drum. The CGL layer is very thin, ranging from 0.1 to 1 micron average.

C.  Charge Transport Layer (CTL):

It allows the laser to penetrate and reach CGL and also keeps the laser from the printer straight, so the image is not distorted.

The thickness of a typical CTL is approximately 20 microns. This layer is generally transparent. Furthermore, it must be durable and resistant to abrasion. As CTL technology improves, the print yield will increase.

STEP 1: The OPC surface receives a uniform negative charge from the primary charge roller (PCR).  

 

STEP 2: The light energy passes through CTL and into CGL to neutralize the negative charge on the drum surface.  

STEP 3: OPC Drum adheres the toner from the Developer Roller on neutralized areas

 

STEP 4: Convey the adhesive toner to the paper.

Cartridge Web’s compatible toner cartridges have passed the compatibility test of OEM printing machines, OEM OPC drums, and other OEM consumables. Not every product of aftermarkets can work well with OEM printers, let alone with verification via multiple tests. Therefore, Cartridge Web will be your best partner when it comes to premium compatible toner cartridges.