Are Laser printers harmful?

[button_ripple]

Anyone suffered from health problems that may be linked to laser printers?

 

What do you think, are they damaging?

Edited April 28, 2008 by witch

[SYNACK]

It depends on how high you drop them from I guess

 

I have not experienced any issues from exposure to them other than abject annoyance at them.

[markcuk]

i would say photocopiers are...

[contink]

At a guess the possible (and I emphasise that word "possible") vectors for ill health would be:

- size of the toner in relation to inhalation

- ozone output from printing process

- having one dropped on you by Synack

[fafster]

Apparently the dust released from them can be pretty harmful.

 

Doesn't help that I spend most of the day sitting next to one

[SYNACK]

At a guess the possible (and I emphasise that word "possible") vectors for ill health would be:

- size of the toner in relation to inhalation

- ozone output from printing process

- having one dropped on you by Synack

 

How do you set a laser printer to stun......

 

 

Heft it off the roof of course

 

I agree with all of your points as there has been some media coverage/research done into all of these (minus me of course as I have not been caught ). There are also other dangers which rely more on malfunction than usual usage. For example I worked at a place that had a laser photocopier but the circuits inside it were not properly grounded and you could get a really nasty shock off the thing.

[Sirbendy]

Yes, I damn near crippled myself moving a Laserjet III.

 

Short of that..dust/toner maybe, but I'd say no more risky than some of the muck in the air, and it's considerably less lethal to breathing than cleaning a projector filter.

[elsiegee40]

The OKIs here are probably harmful...

 

something to with my blood pressure every time they decide to randomly drop their connections to the network

[srochford]

I know it's Friday afternoon so there's probably no need to be serious but there will be members of staff who think that laser printers will harm their health because of the toner/ozone/death rays/what ever.

 

If they have concerns then you can get hazard data from the manufacturers - basically, they are not harmful (unless you drop them on your toe/give your self high blood pressure dealing with their oddities/etc)

[crc-ict]

There is one part of some laser printers that can cause heart attacks...

 

...the price ticket on a replacement toner cartridge!

[tech_guy]

Some useful stuff:

 

http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/B178.pdf

[torledo]

i would say photocopiers are...

 

Yeah, especially if you try and photocopy you're face after a skinful at the christmas party

[enjay]

Okay, similar to this... In a bid to save costs, it has been suggested to me that I start emptying waste toner bottles myself rather than sending them back to manufacturer and buying new ones. What are people's thoughts on this?

[davyboi]

i once read a story on ananova where a teacher got the sack for photocopying a childs face, then as i read it i realised that it was accually one of the schools that the company i was working at at the time supported, i had even covered the school when there tech was off lol,

 

is this the next on the list of harmful things in ICT as the wirless access point waves thing has died down a bit?

[Pottsey]

“is this the next on the list of harmful things in ICT as the wirless access point waves thing has died down a bit?”

Accept printers really are harmful it’s not a fad/unproven like wireless.

 

You must wear gloves when changing toner cartridges and not get toner on the skin if you do wash your hands right away. All techs are meant to be given a stock of medical gloves. You’re in your rights to refuse changing ink without gloves.

 

You’re not meant to sit xxx distance near a laserprinter or photocopier and you must have good air ventilation. Saying that it takes something like 8 hours of none stop printings on modem laseprinters to get the air at toxic levels without ventilation. Photocopyers a lot less time.

 

If you can small the Ozon which is a sweat kind of smell the levels are too high and harmful.

 

The laser on the photo copier damage the eye and shouldn’t be looked at, you should never photocopy with the lid open. Apart from the Health reasons the lid open user's something like x10 more link.

 

Without good ventilation you will get lung damage over time if the laserprinter and photocopier get heavy use. The toner is toxic as well as it seeps into the skin.

 

 

 

 

“In a bid to save costs, it has been suggested to me that I start emptying waste toner bottles myself rather than sending them back to manufacturer and buying new ones. What are people's thoughts on this“

Will they give you a mask, gloves and eye protection? Empty it where? Pretty sure you cannot just put the waste into the bin. It has to be disposed of correctly.

Edited April 28, 2008 by Pottsey

[Joanne]

Okay, similar to this... In a bid to save costs, it has been suggested to me that I start emptying waste toner bottles myself rather than sending them back to manufacturer and buying new ones. What are people's thoughts on this?

 

I've done it... go outside with a bin and a mask and away i did go!! If you wear work scruffs then you'll be fine. If not then wear an apron too. Only takes a couple of minutes.

 

I'm sure there is something wrong about it... chemicals and environment and all.... but saves a few quid... which is of course... more important to the school

[stratisphere]

To be honest, i've seen no concrete proof that laser's cause any long term effects. Saying that, there are studies being done on it and if they prove to be hazardous then fair enough.

 

Although I do object against big laser printers... lifted one up once (partly my fault due to the posture I took to lift it) and half way onto the table *RIIIPP*... there goes the back of my favorite trousers. Had to wear my hoody around my waist all day. My GF did not like me that night

 

The other techy laughed

[Geoff]

Yeah, the HP Colour Laser 5500 here in technology took a bit of man handling. Took 4 of us to lug it around.

[elsiegee40]

Okay, similar to this... In a bid to save costs, it has been suggested to me that I start emptying waste toner bottles myself rather than sending them back to manufacturer and buying new ones. What are people's thoughts on this?

 

 

Anything to do with Laser or Photocopier toners seems to result in people looking like they've been down a coal mine.

 

I'd want the school to provide protective clothing before I started on it. I have to comply with a smart dress code here - I would not want to get Toner over my clothes.

[stratisphere]

We did it for a while. It is messy... but nothing serious as long as your careful.

 

The problem we found is with most lasers, they will only survive 2-4 refills. Even if you empty the waste tank. After that the actual parts in the tank start to go cr*py and print quality goes down fast. Worst case scenario, we had one printer die totally due to part's failing.

[SimpleSi]

As an absolute - laser printers are harmful to techs -mainly due to skin damage due to touching hot parts and possible long term lung defects due to inhalation of toner dust.

 

(don't think Ozone has any effect but you never know!)

 

As a risk assesment, I keep my hands off the hot parts and keep my mouth shut when changing toner carts.

 

Re-filling carts is an unnecessary risk AFAIC and I wouldn't do it.

 

regards

 

Simon

[contink]

Thinking about this logically.. if you're going to start messing with the toner you want to be in a well ventilated room (preferably outside) and in an area where there are no children.

 

Toner is a very fine dust and as such comes under the usual header of a hazard for anyone with asthma, etc... Common sense really, you don't want to be breathing it in, you don't want it coating everything and you don't want it around the kids.

 

Take MDF dust for example... Who knew but that stuff comes under carcinogenic because it's so fine and as such doesn't get expelled from the lungs once breathed in.

[Inbir316]

At a guess the possible (and I emphasise that word "possible") vectors for ill health would be:

- size of the toner in relation to inhalation

- ozone output from printing process

- having one dropped on you by Synack

 

crikey! i think the atmosphere in beijing would do more damage than a toner!!!

[Friez]

Of course they are! Why last night my Laser Printer tried to stab me in my sleep and my wireless access point laced all the food in the house with poison! Harmful things these technological devices I tell ye!

[button_ripple]

“is this the next on the list of harmful things in ICT as the wirless access point waves thing has died down a bit?”

Accept printers really are harmful it’s not a fad/unproven like wireless.

 

You must wear gloves when changing toner cartridges and not get toner on the skin if you do wash your hands right away. All techs are meant to be given a stock of medical gloves. You’re in your rights to refuse changing ink without gloves.

 

You’re not meant to sit xxx distance near a laserprinter or photocopier and you must have good air ventilation. Saying that it takes something like 8 hours of none stop printings on modem laseprinters to get the air at toxic levels without ventilation. Photocopyers a lot less time.

 

If you can small the Ozon which is a sweat kind of smell the levels are too high and harmful.

 

The laser on the photo copier damage the eye and shouldn’t be looked at, you should never photocopy with the lid open. Apart from the Health reasons the lid open user's something like x10 more link.

 

Without good ventilation you will get lung damage over time if the laserprinter and photocopier get heavy use. The toner is toxic as well as it seeps into the skin.

 

 

Where did you get this information from?