Fusing Stage

At the fusing station, the toner is fused into the paper by heat and pressure to produce a permanent image. The paper passes between a heated fusing roller and a soft pressure roller. This melts the toner and presses it into the paper. To keep the toner or paper from sticking, the upper fusing roller is covered with a non-stick, “Teflon-type” sleeve. The fusing roller contains an halogen quartz lamp that provides heat for the fusing process.

The fusing roller temperature is monitored by the DC Controller PCA, using a thermistor (TH1). The DC Controller maintains a temperature of about 172° C during standby mode and 183° C during print mode. If the fusing system overheats (exceeds 230° C), a thermoswitch opens the power circuit to the fusing heat lamp, and a 50 SERVICE message is displayed.

Figure 5-15 Fusing the Toner to the Paper

Functional Overview 5-25