I have a laser printer and sometimes I have continued using a toner cartridge until it is literally out of toner – ignoring the messages that the printer gives me.
Can this damage the printer in any way? For instance, the drum or the fuser unit? How does the toner being low specifically affect the other components?
Best Answer
Short answer: No.
A laser printer will have a mixture of toner and developer in its developer housing. The physical interaction between the particles of toner and developer are what gives the toner an electrical charge. The polarity of this charge will depend on the development system being used in your specific printer.
The printer will either have a Toner Concentration (TC) sensor, or use an algorithm to determine how much toner is in the housing, and how much to dispense.
In many home and small office printers, when you replace the toner you also replace the developer as well, starting you with a known TC. If you are actually adding toner, only, then the printer will dispense toner to reach the working TC. I suppose it might take longer to tone up if you really ran it down.
In no case would you run into a permanent damage situation.