PC Doctor February 23, 2018

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Dear PC Doctor:

My work horse of a laser printer recently stopped printing. The little screen on its front is telling me to replace the “fuser.” What’s a fuser?

Thanks,

Gemma

Dear Gemma:

The fuser is the part of your printer that melts the toner onto your paper. The paper passes through rollers in the fuser assembly, where high temperatures and pressure are used to permanently bond the toner to the paper. The toner powder actually melts and fuses with the fiber in your paper. The paper moves through the rollers quickly enough so that the heat doesn’t cause your paper to catch fire.

If you look up the make and model of your printer, you should be able to find out where you can buy a replacement part. For example, I looked up my printer and a replacement fuser can be purchased from an authorized dealer. You can watch YouTube videos that will show you the steps for replacing it. For mine, it involves taking the printer apart and detaching a lot of cables and electronics. You’ll want to look at the work and cost involved, and decide whether to pay a professional to fix your printer or to buy a new one.

That said, you may be able to reset the counter for your fuser and get a little more use out of your printer before you have to get a new one.

Good luck!
Until next time,
Happy computing!

PC Doctor

Posted: to Athol Library News on Fri, Feb 23, 2018
Updated: Fri, Feb 23, 2018