The article provides information on what a cartridge is. Office equipment is found almost everywhere today. It is already impossible to take a step so that copies of documents and printing of materials are not required. But all the equipment requires maintenance. And in printers, MFPs use cartridges, inside of which several elements are placed. The design of laser cartridges for printers and MFPs will be discussed in the article.
Printer connection with PC
Every time a warning message appears on your computer that the toner of your printer is running out, you need to refuel and, in some cases, replace the chip and reset the counter. Such breakdowns that can occur with the printer are eliminated quite simply. About what cartridges are and about their device further.
Thanks to the USB interface through which the printer and the PC are connected, data is exchanged. You are linking the print device to your PC to ensure that the software works that gives a warning when the toner level is low, or if there are other problems.
How does electronics work?
Toner chips read levels, track the number of drops (in the case of inkjet printers) or the toner (in the case of laser printers) that were used in printing. The chip is programmed when you need to issue a warning. In other words, it contains how much toner, or ink, needs to be used up so that a warning message appears on the screen of your PC.
Unfortunately, this means that the cartridges you refill may still have ink. If the chip is not reset after refilling the cartridge, then it will not allow the printer to continue printing. True, in some models of printing devices, the chip is necessary only for the delivery of information to a PC, it does not affect the functioning of the device as a whole.
What is toner?
Before you understand what a cartridge is, you need to talk about toner. This is a special powder that is poured into the device. It is he who paints the paper black (or any other colors of the rainbow, if the printer is color). The powder consists of a large number of elements, among which several metals. It is with its help that the toner is attracted to the magnetic shaft, and then to the drum. It is also worth noting that this powder is toxic; work with it is allowed only in a respirator and rubber gloves. If it gets on the body or interior item, then you can not wash it with hot water, because it is during heating that the toner is absorbed more. It is recommended to use cold water and laundry soap.
Cartridge refilling and replacement
On some models, after refilling the cartridge, you must reset or replace the chip so that the printer can print further. When replacing a used cartridge with a compatible one, some chips begin to send a warning to the user that these devices may damage the printer. There is little chance that this will cause real damage, but the chip will record this message. Using a compatible (non-original) cartridge will violate the manufacturer’s warranty. In addition, when refueling, you also lose the warranty.
If the loss of warranty is not terrible for you, then you can even refuel yourself. To do this, perform the following manipulations:
- Prepare new toner for refilling. Note that most cartridges hold about 70-80 g of powder. True, there are models in which you can fill up to 150-200 g of toner.
- Prepare your workplace. It is recommended to carry out all work in a non-residential premises.
- Dismantle the cartridge completely and open the waste toner box. It can be reused. In some printers, for example, OKI, this compartment is connected to the main bunker and thereby increases the resource of the device.
- Pour fresh ink into the toner hopper.
- Assemble the cartridge.
What is a microchip, and how refueling occurs, is understandable, so it's time to consider the main elements of the device.
The main components of the cartridge
A detailed study of the design of the device will help to understand its operation and facilitate maintenance.
The laser printer cartridge consists of the following elements:
- A plastic casing usually consists of two halves - the main toner storage bin and the waste compartment.
- Connecting screws.
- Contact plates.
- Magnetic shaft. It is necessary for uniform toner supply to the print head.
- Photocell (drum). This is a kind of cylindrical matrix that transfers the image to paper. Separate areas of the photocell attract warm toner. The shaft is in very tight contact with the paper onto which the image is transferred.
- Rubber shaft. You may not find it on all devices, but it is available on Canon printer cartridges. With it, the paper is pressed against the photocell.
- Toner collection blade. This item allows you to remove excess ink from the magnetic shaft when printing.
All of these elements together allow you to print on paper.