Laser printers and their health risks

akapaulk said:
I almost bought the HP 1012 Laser Printer today. My dad happened to glance at my monitor and told me that if I buy this printer he'll throw it out the window. He said that a laser printer is meant for the office and not for a bedroom (where my computer is). He mentioned about the 'dust' that it generates and of possible health issues. This got me thinking and I did some research. Indeed he is correct.

Would you buy a laser printer for your home computer? I was under the impression that I won't have to spend $20 a cartridge every 1-2 months. Is it worth it?

Please advise your thoughts and suggestions.

Regards,

PK
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i just laughed my @$$ off... your father seems to have been a little woozy that night. there is no way in #@!! that a laser printer is going to harm you unless you get it thrown at you (or you try to fix it yourself). as for replacing cartridges... more like once a month at the most, and closer to $40-$50 for the generic stuff, up to $100 for the name-brand.

as for the "dust" that he's worried about... it's everywhere. you're breathing it as we, er, type (and so is he) and a laser printer isn't going to affect it enough to make a difference, unless you're printing a newspaper in your living room, in enough volume to cover manhattan.
 
toner once a month, what are you printing. I don't think i have ever used a complete toner in a month. Even printing inventory at work, and we print trees at a time.
 
starhawk said:
i use inkjet :D
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that would explain it, i have burnt through an inkjet cartrige in a day, well more than one, i wish i had a color laser printer :(
 
canons really are wonderful (altho i have heard bad things about their photo printers) and i really prefer them over any other printer.

the lexmarks are the ones with horrible ink consumption. other than that, they really aren't that bad.
 
starhawk said:
canons really are wonderful (altho i have heard bad things about their photo printers) and i really prefer them over any other printer.

the lexmarks are the ones with horrible ink consumption. other than that, they really aren't that bad.
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the color lasers?

The only problem with most color lasers is that the toner cost so much and you have to replace the develper (i think i can't remember) pretty much making the printer a throw away after the toner is gone, i have ran across a few that wernt't that bad on toner replacement though
 
k1pp3r said:
toner once a month, what are you printing. I don't think i have ever used a complete toner in a month. Even printing inventory at work, and we print trees at a time.
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I'm inclined to agree with you.... My HP 1100 hasn't run out of toner in almost THREE YEARS! Hell I've been TRYING to run out the toner so I can go buy a new cartridge, but the bastard won't die!
 
There was this massive color laser printer/copier where i used to work and that thing gave me a hard on.
 
Whatsisname said:
There was this massive color laser printer/copier where i used to work and that thing gave me a hard on.
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we have a few color coppiers/network printers at my work place. my room has a HP 5si and a IBM infoprint 1145

but the big daddy is in the mail room, that thing shoots out over 70 PPM
 
Yes laser toner can harm you and it is highly cancerous....In order to work on laser printers you have to take special classes and get special certifications.....You won't have to worry about lung cancer as long as you arent bashing that toner cartridge open in your room.....But yes it is highly cancerous....If you get it in your lungs even the tiniest bit, it may take up to 20 years for the first symptoms to show up.....Just as long as you discard of the toner cartridge properly (throw it away) you have nothing to worry about....Also laser printers can emit Ozone me thinks.......I know the old HP Laserjet 4's use to have ozone filters and even the 3si's.....That's back in the day...Man the government still uses those things because they're freakin workhorses, lol.....
 
Rtstrider said:
Yes laser toner can harm you and it is highly cancerous....In order to work on laser printers you have to take special classes and get special certifications.....You won't have to worry about lung cancer as long as you arent bashing that toner cartridge open in your room.....But yes it is highly cancerous....If you get it in your lungs even the tiniest bit, it may take up to 20 years for the first symptoms to show up.....Just as long as you discard of the toner cartridge properly (throw it away) you have nothing to worry about....Also laser printers can emit Ozone me thinks.......I know the old HP Laserjet 4's use to have ozone filters and even the 3si's.....That's back in the day...Man the government still uses those things because they're freakin workhorses, lol.....
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Thanks for freaking me out, dude! :eek: I've done my fair share of banging around inside laser printers. I've never inhaled a cloud of toner, but I'm sure I've breathed in a bit at one point or another.
 
not highly cancerous. Toner is a class 2B carcinogen, aka, suspected to be cancerous. Benzyne is highly cancerous. Toner is not.

Rtstrider said:
Yes laser toner can harm you and it is highly cancerous....
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JTY said:
As for me, been using a laser printer at home for years. I've got a HP 4+, and it doesn't seem to leave any dust around it. It does have an ozone smell on occassion when printing a lot.
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What does ozone smell like :confused:
 
Xrave said:
What does ozone smell like :confused:
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Ozone is one of the main components of smog and is a lung irritent. Ozone in the sky = good. Ozone near the ground = bad. Ozone is also created by lightening and sparks. Build yourself a Jacob's ladder and start sniffing :)
 
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