Ahhh... smell the fresh printed doc or not!!

Do you have a laser printer at your desk?  You may want to think twice about how close you are to the printer.

A team of Australian scientists at the Queensland University of Technology, have undertaken research to find out if the laser printers we use everyday at work and home pose many health risks.

Upon reviewing the article the study showed that 30 percent of laser printers tested emit dangerous particles.  They also stated that the high standard deviation of the average emission rates estimated in this study also indicate that the particle emission process and the behavior of the individual printers are complex and that they are still far from being completely understood.  Many factors, such as printer model, printer age, cartridge model, and cartridge age may affect the particle emission process and all of these factors require further study.

Among the results of the study, it was found that black-and-white laser printers did not emit toner dust in measurable amounts, and only one of the tested printers emitted low quantities of ozone.

Solid advice is to make sure you have proper ventilation as with anything that puts out an odor or possible fine particles.  If you go by the logic of the article, paper dust can be hazardous as well.  I think we all can use a little leg stretch and exercise to get up and walk over to your printer.  Since we all at structurenetX work inside a CRAC (computer room air conditioner) data center, our liebert unit is making sure that we have some nice cool recycled air.

This study is only one out of many that has been conducted.  Check out what HP has to say.HP comments

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