The white vector--the voltage difference between white areas of a latent image on a photoconductive unit and a developer roller--may be independently adjusted at each photoconductive unit, allowing multiple image forming units to be driven from a shared power supply. The photoconductive unit is charged to a high voltage level relative to the developer roller, and selectively optically discharged to the desired white vector by a first laser source. The voltage of the discharged area may be measured, or may be calculated by increasing the developer roller voltage a predetermined amount, discharging the photoconductive unit until toner is sensed in white image areas, and then reducing the developer roller voltage. The white areas are discharged using a different light source, such as a laser, LED or electroluminescent source. A second laser may be of a different wavelength than a writing laser.