Toner And Why You Need More Of It Than You Think

2011-05-10

Toner cartridges are important to have on hand. For those of you who work in an occupation where printing out forms or making photocopies is important, you know how frustrating and annoying it is to find a laser printer or copy machine with an empty toner cartridge. Hopefully, your company has replacement toner cartridges on hand, but just how many should be kept on hand? Of course, it depends on the amount of use your machine is subject to and the type of printer or photocopier you have.

The weight of the toner powder determines the amount of printer output or "page yields." Some toner cartridges are high yield and some are lower yield so you should know the difference between the two to make sure you stock a compatible type. Some high-yield toner won't work with the low yield cartridges and vice-versa. Some manufactures offer a toner that will work with either a high or low yield cartridge.

Most good quality laser printer cartridges will yield at least 7,000 pages in color and at least 9,000 pages in black and white. Laser printers are also cheaper than ink jet printers and require less maintenance. Toner cartridges are usually easy to insert and they can also be refilled and recycled. Most manufactures recommend refilling toner cartridge no more than three times. Another benefit laser printers have over inkjet printers is that the laser printer's fuser actually melts the images onto the pages so printed pages will not smear or run in case they get wet. Ruined pages mean you have to reprint them and that leads to more toner used and shortens the life of the cartridges.

Another thing to consider is that the toner does have an expiration date. If it is kept in a sealed bag, then the expiration date does not mean much, but if the bag is opened and the toner is subject to moisture, then the expiration date should be heeded. Toner in a printer that is in an arid environment (as most air-conditioned offices are) will last longer than cartridges that are stored in a stuffy or unventilated area, such as a storage closet or basement.

These days, most consumer goods are available online, so the Internet would be a good place to start searching for discount toner cartridges. Buying toner cartridges and printer ink online is usually much cheaper that buying them from physical retailers. An initial search using the keywords "toner cartridges" or "printer ink online" will yield many results and it is very likely that the prices given online will significantly beat the prices you will find in your local retailers.