Shaking laser printer toner to extend its life duration?

Recently, my laser printer had not been printing pages correctly due to low toner.





My friend told me to shake it to extend its life temporily...To my surprise, it worked and pages were printed correctly again.





I know that the a laser printer's toner is not liquid, so why by shaking it would extend its lifetime? Is it to shake off the powder inside it...?Shaking laser printer toner to extend its life duration?
You are re-distributing the toner. Notice how when pages don't print, streaks of white appear in columns? By shaking the toner, you distribute what little is left. This is really a desperation measure, so you should have replacement toner on hand quickly. And don't print any thesis papers while your toner is in this state. ;)Shaking laser printer toner to extend its life duration?
That is it (pretty much).....The toner needs to be evenly distributed on the inside or you will get faded areas on your print job. Shaking helps to get the little remaining powder nice and level.
It frees a small amount of toner that is stuck inside the unit.
I think you've got it - my theory is that the powder gets stuck on parts until you shake it. It's a small amount, so once you've shaken it, you need to go out and buy a replacement - but it'll give you enough toner for another 50 pages or so.