Both LED (light emitting diodes) and LCD (liquid crystal display) printer technologies use a Xerographic printing process to produce their documents. However, their name derives from using either LEDs or LCDs and not a laser beam to transfer an electrostatic image to the photoreceptor: See stage 3 of How Do Laser Printers Work?
LED printers use a linear, high density array of LEDs to produce the image on the print drum whereas LCD printers produce an image on the photosensitive drum by shinning light through a liquid crystal display that filters the passage of light on a individual pixel basis.
Given that LED, LCD and laser printers all make use of a similar process of printing, it is common practice for magazines, shops and websites to refer to all 3 types as ‘Laser Printers’. If there is any doubt, always refer to the manufacturers’ specifications.
LED printers
Examples of LED printers
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| OKI B840DN Monochrome |
OKI C834DNW Colour |
OKI C8600N Colour |
OKI MC873DNV Multifunctional |
What are the Pros and Cons of LED Printers Compared to Traditional Laser Printers?
Pros:
Simpler mechanism with fewer moving parts means LED printers are:
- Cheaper to manufacture and therefore more budget friendly.
- Easier to maintain for beginners.
- Less sensitive to shock/impact.
- Reliable with a good service life.
By avoiding the need for multiple passes, LED printers tend to print faster than the type of laser printer found in office supply stores. You would have to buy an high end laser printer to outperform an LED printer in this regard.
Having a flat paper path means they print extremely well on a variety of different media.
More compact and easier to move around, e.g. A3 LED printers have a similar footprint to A4 laser printers. This attribute makes them ideal for ‘multifunction printers’ that can print, copy and scan.
Cons:
The LED lighting mechanism has inherent issues, e.g. absolutely fixed horizontal resolution, which result in inferior print quality to laser printers. However, the quality produced is still perfectly acceptable for most situations.
Less suited to environments that demand high quality/high volume/high durability associated with laser printers, e.g. professional desktop publishing.
Documents more prone to smudging.
Frequent small print runs negatively impacts the longevity of the LED printer drum.
LED brightness variance. The brightness/intesity of LED’s of the same specifications can vary by as much as 15% or more.
How does an LED Printer Work?
A simplified diagram of the workings of an LED printer is shown below:
