Laser Printers: The Saga Continues

Are laser printers dangerous or harmless? If you side with a team of researchers at the Queensland University of Technology, then particle emissions can make the printers hazardous to your health. But at least one laser printer manufacturer -- HP, in this case -- doesn't agree.
According to an official statement from the company, HP finds that there no indications that ultrafine particle (UFP) emissions from laser printing systems are associated with special health risks.

While noting that testing of ultrafine particles is a new scientific discipline, HP goes on to say that "the nature and chemical composition of such particles -- whether from a laser printer or from a toaster -- cannot be accurately characterized by analytical technology. I like that. Trivializing the possibility by resorting to an apple and oranges comparison to a toaster. Come on HP. You're better than that.

The company then went on to say that "many experts believe that many of the UFPs found in common household and office products are not discrete solid particles, but may be condensation products or small droplets created during thermal processes." Emphasis mine.

In all fairness, HP does a lot of testing of its laser printers, and, in building its products, the company does follow guidelines from both the Blue Angel environmental program in Germany and the Greenguard air quality program in the United States.

And like a lot of us, HP hopes to learn more from the study authors about how products were chosen for the study, how ranges were determined given no standards exist, and many other factors that could have influenced the results.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 07:29 AM  Permalink