Laser printers may pose health risks

Emissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke

An Australian professor is now calling for regulations to limit printer emissions.

Office workers no longer breathing easy

Since smoking was banned in public places in the U.S. and U.K. . You can start worrying again, according to research from the Queensland University of Technology's Air Quality and Health Program, led by physics professor Lidia Morawska.

The average laser printer releases toner particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular trouble, according to Morawska's team, part of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, and specialists in atmospheric particles.

62 Laser Printers Tested

The team tested 62 laser printer models--all relatively new--and found that 17 of them were "high emitters" of toner particles. Despite using similar technology, office photocopiers do not emit particles, the team found.

Chance Discovery

The printer-emissions data were discovered by chance when an investigation of office ventilation systems, carried out jointly between the university and the Queensland Department of Public Works, found five times as many particles indoors as those produced by traffic outdoors.

Using an electronic sniffer, researchers traced the emissions to printers. The emissions were found to increase during the day, when printers were left on standby or in full operation.

Following the revelation, Morawska's team tested their own printers and moved the unhealthy ones away from people. The researchers are now calling for regulations on printer emissions. The study included Canon, HP LaserJet, Ricoh and Toshiba printers.

Time to pack up your laser and start using inkjet printers ?

Ricoh release Gel based Printers

Gel-Ink
Ricoh has introduced a gel-based colour system instead of the familiar inkjet technology. This allows the devices to print at up to 30 pages-per-minute, according to the firm, and makes them an economical alternative to inkjets.

2 Year Warranty

The company is also backing the models with a two-year on-site service warranty.

Models

The new GelSprinter Aficio GX3000, GX3050N and GX5050N are the first printers to be launched using this technology, according to Ricoh. The A4 models are capable of producing up to 30 pages-per-minute in both colour, and black and white.

"The technology has the speed of a laser, but the purchase cost is closer to an inkjet," said Ricoh senior product manager, Helen Berentzen.

Running costs are also lower, she added.

Pigment Based Colors

Developed by Ricoh, the GelSprinter process uses pigment-based colours that sit on the surface of the paper instead of soaking into the fibres. This produces a fast-drying and waterproof finish that does not smudge, blur or bleed, the company said.

Duplex Printing

It also enables duplex printing, allowing firms to save paper by using both sides, something that is difficult with inkjets. (Canon produces double sided inkjet printers.)

All three Aficio models support this as standard.

Swap out Warranty

Confident of the technology's reliability, Ricoh is offering a two-year, on-site warranty for the new printers, and will swap out any unit that cannot be repaired.

"Not many suppliers are able to do this at this end of the market," said Berentzen.