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With this capability, the Star LaserPrinter 8111 will operate with a wide range
of applications programs on the market, both old and new. Chapter 7
provides the information that will allow you to use your printer with four
popular applications programs: Lotus I-2-3, WordPerfect, Microsoft Word,
and Microsoft Windows.
Chapter 8 and 9 describe the maintenance and troubleshooting operations to
keep your Star LaserPrinter 8111 working in “perfect” condition.
LASER PRINTING
Before you begin learning about your new Star LaserPrinter 8111, you may
find it helpful to know something about laser printing itself.
A laser is actually a beam oflight ofjust one wavelength (Laser is an acronym
for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). Such a beam
of light, described as “highly coherent,“can be focused very sharply. Lasers,
generated by gases, liquids or semiconductors, are widely used in applica-
tions ranging from surgery to the visual arts.
Laser printing is a process that uses a laser beam - in this case, generated
by a semiconductor- to activate portions of an electrically charged surface.
These activated parts represent the words, numbers, or graphics being sent
from the computer for printing. Other parts of the printer transfer this image
to paper, then clean the surface and prepare it to receive more information to
be printed.
In other words, this process is a type of laser-activated temporary engraving.
In the Star LaserPrinter 8111, two interconnected units produce the complete
printing process: the toner cartridge and the printer body.
The toner cartridge contains the drum, which is the rotating surface. In the
darkness of the toner cartridge, the drum holds a negative charge placed on
it by the primary corona wire in the printer. Shutters on the bottom ofthe toner
cartridge assure that no unwanted light penetrates its interior.
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