Knowing a little bit about toner might help you a lot, whether you're thinking about switching from inkjet to toner or you were just promoted to key operator for your printer.
In summary, many of the same criteria do not apply to toner and ink because they are not the same. We'll go over what toner is and how to use it properly in this blog.
What Is Toner?
Toner is a fine powder that contains plastic, carbon, and colouring agents.
Unlike printer ink, which is simply sprayed through tiny nozzles onto the paper, toner printers (a.k.a. laser printers) use a laser to create an electrostatic charge on a drum, which attracts toner particles in a specific pattern. The pattern, containing an image or text (or both), is then fused to the paper using heat.
What You Should Know About Toner Cartridges
Don’t underestimate ink and toner cartridges! They may look insignificant and boxy, but inside, they’re surprisingly high-tech.
That’s why we advise our clients to steer clear of “compatible” toner cartridges. Not only can they cause wear and tear on your machine, but nowadays, at any point in the supply chain, cybercriminals can use their reprogrammable chips to launch a cyberattack on your organisation.
Remanufactured cartridges, when available, are a much safer alternative if you’re hoping to save money. However, keep in mind that an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cartridge will probably last longer. So if you’re hoping to cut print costs, there are better ways. We’ll explore that a bit later!
How Long Does Toner Last?
OEM toner cartridges last quite a while — much longer than inkjet cartridges, which is one of their primary advantages.
Each cartridge will have an estimated yield that’s published by its manufacturer. It’s only an estimate because every printed page will use a different amount of toner. But for an estimated page yield, manufacturers assume that toner will cover 5% of a printed page.
Estimated yields will vary by manufacturer; here are some ballpark figures:
- Standard black laser cartridges — 2,000-10,000 pages
- Colour laser cartridges — 1,000-5,000 pages.
Does Printer Toner Go Bad If It Isn't Used?
Ink cartridges can last one to two years on the shelf if they are properly packaged and stored. After that, they can start to dry up and endanger your device. The ink cartridges in your printer, however, ought to last eight months.
Advice from experts: Don't use outdated ink cartridges. Equipment damage is not worth it. Think about automated supply ordering alternatives if your company finds it difficult to maintain the proper amount of backstock—neither too little nor too much! Some managed print service companies offer this service as a stand-alone solution.
Toner powder has a longer shelf life of 24 to 36 months if properly managed, although it can still deteriorate.
How Do You Know if Toner Is Bad?
Old toner isn’t as likely to clog print heads or cause damage to your equipment, but don’t push it too far past the expiration date. Yes, expiration dates are just estimates, and if it’s close and you’ve stored your toner properly, you may have some wiggle room. But it’s not a good idea to initiate a 500-page print job using an expired cartridge.
Instead, you might try printing a few test pages to check for these telltale signs that your toner is no longer good:
- Faded text, streaks, or smudges
- Irregular colour or darkness
- Frequent paper jams
- Visible toner clumps
- Blank areas on the page
- An error message on your device
How Should Toner Be Stored?
Here are some storage tips to help your toner last longer:
- Keep it somewhere dry and cool.
- Preserve it in its original packaging.
- Cartridges should be stacked horizontally to prevent toner compression.
Your toner's lifespan will be shortened by the following:
- Overheated (over 90°)
- High relative humidity (over 50%)
- Direct sunlight
What Are Some Ways to Extend the Life of Toner?
Here are our best suggestions for extending the life of the same cartridge and saving your company a significant amount of money, in addition to preserving it correctly:
- Make use of thinner typefaces.
- Turn on cost-saving defaults (draft mode, black-and-white printing, or reduced print density).
- Encourage employees to proofread materials twice before printing them and to do so only when absolutely required.
Other Strategies to Reduce Print Expenses
Reducing print expenses is a worthwhile objective. Print expenditures are often an organisation's third-highest expense, after salary and rent, unless you're closely monitoring and controlling them! Here are some strategies to ensure that your gadgets don't steal your money:
Automated Ordering of Supplies
This one was already noted, but it's particularly useful for businesses with a small number of printing machines, for which a managed print services program wouldn't be a good fit. To help you avoid waste and wrong orders, a print supplier will install advanced software on your printing devices to monitor ink and toner levels and deliver you the right supplies just in time. This process is known as automated supply ordering.
In the past, not every gadget made by every manufacturer could be similarly monitored by this kind of software. But regardless of the manufacturer, a supplier who has kept up with the latest developments in software should be able to automate supply orders. You will also be less susceptible to scams involving office supplies!
Print Services Are Managed
If maintaining your printers is a frequent source of frustration at work, you rely on printing for crucial workflows, and you want to enhance your cybersecurity while reducing print costs, you might want to think about managed print services, which entail outsourcing the management, upkeep, and optimisation of your printing devices to a third-party expert.
Click the link below to read our complete guide, including provider red flags to watch out for!
