Does a laser printer use a actual laser? Do LaserJet printers use laser technology?
What’s the difference between a Laser printer and a LaserJet printer? To put it simply, there really is no difference. A LaserJet printer is a laser printer. It’s just a brand name much like a Kleenex is a tissue or a Q-Tip is a cotton swab. Since HP has been producing printers for such a long time, the name “LaserJet” has become a premium brand name that many people use instead of a Laser printer. Brother, Toshiba, Xerox, and other manufactures have names for their printers, but it’s not as pronounced as HP’s LaserJet line.
So what kind of “laser” is in a laser printer like HP’s LaserJet line? Does a laser burn the paper black? Well the short answer is that there really isn’t a red or blue laser in the printer and it doesn’t burn anything to paper, directly. The way a laser printer work is that a small device called a scanner uses an invisible laser to “etch” an image onto a rolling pin called a drum. It charges the drum with the image so it picks up toner in the cartridge and lays it on the paper. Then the toner (or plastic particles) are sealed or fused on to the paper. That’s it, no burning, no fancy red lasers.