laser printer, a computer printer that produces high-resolution output by means of a process that is similar to photocopying. In place of reflected light from an image (as is used in xerography), a laser printer uses data sent from a computer to turn a laser beam on and off rapidly as it scans a charged drum. The drum then attracts toner powder to the areas not exposed to the light. Finally, the toner is fused to paper over a belt by heated rollers. In a write-black printer the laser positively charges the printed areas to attract the toner, which gives better detail than a write-white printer. In a write-white printer, the beam negatively charges the areas not to be printed to repel the toner, which gives a denser image. Faster, quieter, and capable of producing more attractive results than standard printers, laser printers have become an important means of printing business documents since they became more generally available (1984) for personal computers. See also desktop publishing.

laser printer An electrophotographic printer in which a laser is used as the light source; the laser beam is modulated to produce the image. The term is also often used to refer to page printers of this type that use LEDs or LCDs as the active element. This type of printer is now very widely used as an office printer, frequently shared among a number of users. Most laser printers use single sheets of paper or transparent media and provide media-handling facilities; some can handle more than 15 pages per minute. Laser printers produce a very high standard of print. The higher-end range of laser printers now offers resolutions of greater than 600 dots per inch. Prices have now fallen to a level where the cheaper models are affordable even on single workstations. Color laser printers are also available.

la·ser print·er • n. a printer linked to a computer producing good-quality printed material by using a laser to form a pattern of electrostatically charged dots on a light-sensitive drum, which attract toner (or dry ink powder). The toner is transferred to a piece of paper and fixed by a heating process.