Cleaning Stage

During the cleaning stage of the image formation process, the drum’s surface is physically cleaned, preparing it to hold an image. During printing, the drum is rotating constantly making several complete rotations per printed page. Before forming the image for a given section of print, a cleaning blade removes toner from the previous rotation of the drum. The excess toner is stored in the toner cartridge where it is prevented from being used in later print jobs.

Figure 5-8 Drum Cleaning Station

5-18 Functional Overview