Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

From what I understand of the process, magnetic particles are standard. It's just the ratios are changed for different processes. Take apart a toner cartridge and there's usually a long magnet either in the drum or "doctor" assembly. Depending on the printer it either helps establish the coating, or helps weed any toner sticking to the drum in non-image areas. This is one of the reasons for brand specific toner. Some printers are entirely electrostatic, and can't take magnetic particles, some must have their magic ratio. I used to work on lightning printers that were used before memory got cheap. They used paper rolls instead of sheets and ran so fast, that if there was a jam the paper instantly ignited.