Laser Printer

A laser printer is a printing device that uses an electrostatic digital printing process, passing a laser beam over a negatively charged rotating drum to create a differentially charged image, which then attracts electrically charged toner powder that is transferred to paper and fused permanently with heat. The American engineer Gary Starkweather developed the underlying concept at Xerox PARC in 1969 by modifying a photocopier to scan with a laser rather than reflected light, and IBM brought the first commercial laser printer, the IBM 3800, to market in 1976 for high-volume printing. Hewlett-Packard's 1984 HP LaserJet, built around a Canon print engine, brought the technology to office and home desks, and laser printers have since become standard equipment wherever fast, high-quality printed output is needed.