A study has found high levels of
toner dust being emitted by some of the most popular laser
printers. Although experts say the the danger posed by the dust is
small, there is
some evidence
that high concentrations of toner dust could contribute
to respiratory problems in users.
The research, conducted by the
American Chemical Society's Environmental Science & Technology
(ES&T) journal, measured emission levels of 58 laser
printers, which included products from Canon, Hewlett-Packard,
Ricoh and Toshiba. The emissions are connected to the granular
pieces of powdered toner and the printers ranked in several
categories.
Thirteen printers were categorised by researchers as "high
emitters", 12 were made by HP, including the Color LaserJet 4650dn
Color LaserJet 5550dtn Color LaserJet 8550n LaserJet 1320n LaserJet
2420n LaserJet 4200dtn LaserJet 4250n LaserJet 5 LaserJet 8000dn
and the LaserJet 8150n.
HP printers did, however, make up the majority of those tested,
said researchers.
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