This article was taken from the April 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Yellow 180
All organic pigments cause electrons to absorb wavelengths of light. This one traps violet light while yellow passes through, bouncing off the page and into your eyeballs.
Red 122
Compounds of quinacridone produce intense reddish hues as flat molecules stackup in a crystal structure that shifts the reflected colour to magenta.
Blue 15:3
This pigment produces cyan, midway between green and blue, and could someday power quantum computers because its electrons can exist in a state of superposition.
Charge Control Agents
The powder picks up static as it leaves the cartridge, and bits of iron, chromium or zinc boost the charge: sucking up spills with a vacuum cleaner can cause a colourful explosion.
Polyester
Toner is powdered plastic. That means it can hold a static charge and will cling to objects with an opposite charge. Laser printers use that to move the toner around: first to an imaging drum and then on to the paper. Hot fuser rolls then squash the stuff into the paper fibres.
Wax
Early printers used radiant heat to melt the toner; unfortunately, the boss's memos caught fire. Fuser rolls fixed that and wax was added to the mix for lubrication.
Fumed Silica
Microscopic glass beads (SiO<sub>2</sub>) provide an almost liquid powder flow. A fun project for you: make your own by vaporising sand in a 3,000°C electric arc.
Carbon Black
To make the clear polyester look black, manufacturers use a mix of carbon particles beneath floating clouds of electrons. Because these electrons have lots of room to move, they absorb light energy at all visible wavelengths. The result: no light reflects back to your retina, an absence your brain calls "black".
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
