Multiple steps occur at once in laser printer

Once the raster image generation is complete all steps of the printing process can occur one after the other in rapid succession. This permits make use of a very small and compact unit, where the photoreceptor is charged, rotates a few degrees and is scanned, rotates a few more degrees and is developed, and so forth. The entire process can be finished before the drum completes one revolution.

Different printers implement these steps in distinct ways. Some "laser" printers actually make use of a linear array of light-emitting diodes to "write" the light on the. The toner is based on either wax or plastic, so that when the paper passes through the fuser assembly, the particles of toner melt. The paper can or can not be oppositely charged. The fuser can be an infrared oven, a heated pressure roller, or a xenon flash lamp. The Warm Up process that a laser printer goes through when power is basically applied to the printer consists mainly of heating the fuser element. Many printers have a toner-conservation mode or "economode", which can be substantially more economical with fuser consumption at the price of slightly lower similarity.