Source : WordNet®

laser printer
     n : electrostatic printer that focuses a laser beam to form
         images that are transferred to paper electrostatically

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

laser printer
     
         A non-impact high-resolution printer which uses a
        rotating disk to reflect laser beams to form an electrostatic
        image on a selenium imaging drum.  The developer drum
        transfers toner from the toner bin to the charged areas of the
        imaging drum, which then transfers it onto the paper into
        which it is fused by heat.  Toner is dry ink powder, generally
        a plastic heat-sensitive polymer.
     
        Print resolution currently (2001) ranges between 300 and 2400
        dots per inch (DPI).  Laser printers using chemical
        photoreproduction techniques can produce resolutions of up to
        2400 DPI.
     
        Print speed is limited by whichever is slower - the printer
        hardware (the "engine speed"), or the software {rendering}
        process that converts the data to be printed into a {bit map}.
     
        The print speed may exceed 21,000 lines per minute, though
        printing speed is more often given in pages per minute.  If a
        laser printer is rated at 12 pages per minute (PPM), this
        figure would be true only if the printer is printing the same
        data on each of the twelve pages, so that the bit map is
        identical.  This speed however, is rarely reached if each page
        contains different codes, text, and graphics.
     
        In 2001, Xerox's Phaser 1235 and 2135 (with Okidata engines)
        could print up to 21 colour ppm at 1200x1200 DPI using a
        single-pass process.
     
        Colour laser printers can reach 2400 DPI easily (e.g. an HP
        LaserJet 8550).  Some printers with large amounts of RAM can
        print at engine speed with different text pages and some of
        the larger lasers intended for graphics design work can print
        graphics at full engine speed.
     
        Although there are dozens of retail brands of laser printers,
        only a few {original equipment manufacturers} make {print
        engines}, e.g. {Canon}, {Ricoh}, {Toshiba}, and {Xerox}.
     
        (2002-01-06)