Developer bias and activation delay system and method

A system and method for reducing toner waste during startup of a print operation for electrostatic printers includes a controller that is configured to delay the biasing and rotation of a developer roller until initially uncharged portions of a photoconductive drum have rotated past the developer roller. At the start of a print operation the controller rotates a photoconductive drum and activates a charge corona to put an initial charge on the photoconductive drum, which is thereafter selectively removed in accordance with the image to be printed. The charge corona and developer roller are angularly displaced from one another such that at the start of a print job uncharged portions of the photoconductive drum are initially rotated past the developer roller. Delaying the biasing and rotation of the developer roller prevents toner from being transferred from the developer roller to the initially uncharged portions of the photoconductive drum.