These are relatively soft, so wear out after a certain number of pages. Kyocera uses amorphous silicon for the drum surface of the FS-600, a very much harder material. This means that the drum will usually last for the mechanical lifetime of the rest of the printer. To produce a printed image, a beam of light modifies the uniform electrostatic charge on the drum surface. Toner particles, which are also charged but in opposite polarity to the rest of the drum, then stick to the modified areas.
Most electrographic printers use a laser beam to modify the drum charge.
In these designs a faceted spinning mirror is used to scan the beam across the length of the drum. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of ZDNet is prohibited. ZDNet and the ZDNet logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company.