OKI Printing Solutions has pioneered the development and use of LED technology in printing for over 20 years. LED or Light Emitting Diode/Device is the type of light source used in the electrophotographic printing method for most of our printers.

LED printheads use an array containing multiple LEDs and the LEDs individually turn on and off according to print signals.

Conventional LEDs have a two-terminal structure comprised of an anode and a cathode. In a technology made possible by Epi Film Bonding, the new LED array features a three-terminal structure comprised of an anode, cathode, and gate, adding switching capabilities to the conventional LED function of emitting light. The new LEDs reduce the number of wires required in the chip and reduce chip width by 22%. They also make it possible to deploy a single power line on the substrate on which LEDs are mounted, halving the number of substrates used.

OKI Printing Solutions was the world's first company to achieve high-volume production of LED printheads based on this new technology. All future LED products will incorporate this new LED printhead.

Read a technical paper on these new printheads.

LED Printhead Advantages

• Smaller dot sizes create highly accurate output
• Multi-level shading provides superior print quality and clarity
• LEDs have no moving parts and are ultra reliable
• LED is smaller and more compact, using fewer material resources and energy

LED vs. Laser
Laser systems rely on elaborate combinations of rotating mirrors and lenses that must remain in alignment through use. The laser scans from one end of a line to another, then zig-zags down to the next line.

LED technology uses a Light Emitting Diode printhead as a light source within the imaging device. Unlike laser systems, the LED printhead is solid-state and has no moving parts. The LED bar pulse-flashes across the entire page width and creates the image on the print drum as it moves down.

OKI also has a straight-line paper path (Single Pass Color) that's less susceptible to jams when feeding heavy stock, envelopes or labels.

LED technology is the future. We're so sure of this that we guarantee the printhead of every OKI page printer for five full years — by far the longest warranty in the industry!

See a comparison of the complex steps required for laser printing versus the single step required for OKI's Dgital LED printing.