In 1969 when the first laser printer was invented by Gary Starkweather it was a very crude model of what we know today. The original laser printer was modeled using a laser copier. This however was not the colour laser printer which came later but this printer was the beginning of the colour laser printer as we know it today.
Colour laser printers were more difficult to produce because they used four times the memory of their originator. Each one of the colours used by the toner in a colour laser printer (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) CMYK had to be converted to an image on the screen, and then converted to a digitized image which would work on a printout or on a computer monitor.
The colour laser printer that was to be used in an office setting would require more supplies to run and they failed far faster than the monochrome type.
It was not until 1981 that the first laser printer was suitable for using with a personal computer. This printer, the Xerox Star 8010 was an expensive laser printer and not many people could afford it with a price tag of around £9,000.
Working similar to photocopiers, colour laser printers use a method called xerographic printing which means that the image is made by attracting a resinous powder to a plate that has been charged with electric static. This is transferred to the paper and set by heat.
An electrically charged drum which rotates is where the laser beam projects its image. The drum is prepared by being covered with selenium. The areas that are exposed to light have the charge removed by using photoconductivity. The toner, which is basically dry ink, then is picked up by the areas on the drum that are charged. The drum prints the document by pressing the image to the paper and heat sets it to the paper.
Due to the rapid printing process of colour laser printers they were preferred and the price reflected this since the colour laser printer sold for about £2000 in 1984. However, they began to become more reasonable as the concept became more commonplace. The cheapest model monochrome laser printer could be bought for less than £75 just this year.
The colour laser printer has many good points that are unlike other types of printers. The print speed for one of the fastest laser printer is 12,000 pages per hour (200 pages a minute) in monochrome and 6000 an hour (100 pages a minute) in colour. These are normally used for mailings that have to be mass produced such as utility bills.
The disadvantages to this type of printer are the drum. The printers with the soft plastic drums can be expensive to maintain because of the need to replace the drum. This is often not known about this printer until it becomes necessary. The printers themselves are not that expensive but the toners are another item that the printer requires that can be quite costly depending upon the brand and style printer you purchase.