How Laser Printers Can Damage Your Health and Your Best Alternative to Them
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Loading ...Just how hi-tech a printer can be? Through the years, there are a lot of different kinds of printers that have been manufactured and sold into the market. One of these is the laser printer. As the name implies, it uses laser beams, not inks, to create images on the rotating drum. From the rotating drum of the laser printers, the images will then be transferred into your chosen paper.
One of the common advantages of the laser printer is that it offers incredible speed. You can eventually print as many as 6,000 pages in an hour. It is one of the reasons why this printer is commonly used in mass mailings, such as for printing of billing statements and memos.
But do you know that despite its benefit, a laser printer can have terrible effect on your health?
A study conducted among 62 printers revealed that 27% of them are actually “high particle emitters.” This means that compared to other printers tested, 17 of them can produce the most number of particles while printing. In fact, some of them produce too much particles that they are almost comparable to the particle emissions of cigarette smoke. And it has been found out that some of these printers are the HP printers, especially the laser printers. As mentioned, they do not produce ink but powder.
The Problem with Ultrafine Particles
The particles that are being talked about are ultrafine particles, the ones that are used in laser printers. Because they are small, they can get into your nasal passageways once you inhale near the printer. They can then move on to the lungs of the human being. Though the real laser printer health risks are not yet properly identified, there is a huge chance that they can cause respiratory problems, such as asthma. Moreover, the powders can cause laser printer health risks as dangerous and deadly as cancers.
Also, the powder can cause indoor pollution, in your office or in your home. Because they are very small and can move about freely, they can be inhaled even by those who do not use the laser printer.
What Are Your Best Alternative for Laser Printers?
Let us be clear first here before we proceed. Though the studies have been conducted, there is still no exact study that can prove the health repercussions of the laser printers. However, it is ideal to take the proper steps to good health.
One of the best options to prevent laser printer health risks is to use inkjet printers. Though they may be slower than laser printers, they are a lot safer. You can also research on the newer kinds of printers that are available today. You will realize that there are plenty of new ones, which can be an excellent alternative to the laser printers. You can read printer reviews to determine which of them would be perfect to your needs.
As they say, prevention is better than cure. Before you expose yourself to laser printer health risks, take the right steps now.
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March 1st, 2010 at 1:40 am
[...] contributor of Office Supplies Information & Resources. More information on the subject is at How Laser Printers Can Damage Your Health and Your Best Alternative to Them, and related resources can be found at Printer Ink [...]
April 2nd, 2010 at 1:21 am
Do you know if an Air Purifier would be effective in removing the ultrafine particles or are we talking too fine to be trapped by their filters?
August 19th, 2010 at 10:55 am
if they are so dangerous then why on the printer reviews link is there both inkjet and laser printers listed. You even said that not all printers are high particle emitters. why not use any laser printers if just 27% are dangerous (from whatever source you got it from). Your argument isn’t as thorough as it should be.