A Toner cartridge or a laser toner is the charged powdered ink. This printer cartridge is a fine, dry mixture of plastic particles, carbon, black and other dyes that is electrostatically charged in the laser printing process. Ink cartridges or printer ink cartridges are used for inkjet printers and contain ink that is propelled onto paper to produce the required image. These printer ink cartridges are readily available in markets.
Printer ink cartridges owing to their liquid nature can be easily projected onto a variety of surfaces be it glossy, matte, fabric, and so on. They are more affordable than toners. They are the perfect choice when you have to continuously print. If left unused, they tend to dry up and get chalky.
When buying an Ink Cartridge or a toner, there are several factors to consider. One must check the quality and reliability of the brand of the cartridge as well as the toner. It is great if the toner and cartridge are recyclable in nature, to reduce waste.
To see if they meet the eco-label criteria to help maintain the indoor air quality where you work. And, it should be seen whether they are engineered for security, to protect your printer and your data.
Parameters to consider when buying ink cartridges and toner cartridges:
Buy cartridges according to your printer’s needs
- Standard cartridges: These cartridges are recommended for home and occasional printing.
- Combo or twin packs: You can buy a pack of 2 or 4 instead of individual inks to ensure fewer trips to the store.
- XL pack: These are bigger than standard cartridges. They are ideal if you print often. They offer a lower cost per page.
- Ink bottle: Spill-free, resealable bottles for ink tank and smart tank printers.
What model?
When buying a Toner Cartridge, this should be your first consideration. There are various brands and types of laser-printing devices that use toner cartridges. Most toner cartridges will be marked with a manufacturer’s part number and you can use this number to order exactly the same toner when you run out of it.
Deciding the types
OEM (Original equipment manufacturer)
These are cartridges that are manufactured by the same company that manufactured the device. These types of cartridges are classified by their high-quality print and reliability. Hence, they are usually very expensive.
Compatible
These cartridges are generic and non-branded. They are still built to work in specific printers at a lower cost than OEM cartridges. This makes them a great choice for money-conscious customers. However, it is important to note that lower-quality brands can cause performance issues with devices and produce a lower-quality print.
Remanufactured
These cartridges are often confused with compatible cartridges. They are very similar, however, there is one primary difference, remanufactured ink cartridges are used cartridges that are renovated with new parts. They are cost-effective printing solutions. They are environment-friendly. Refill cartridges are also often confused with remanufactured cartridges. Remanufacturing involves replacing worn parts of a cartridge to get it back to a working state, whereas refilling simply involves refilling the ink. This is a cheaper option than OEM Ink Cartridges but users will have to compromise with the print quality.
Page yield
Page yield is an important consideration to make when buying ink cartridges. You will want to print the maximum number of pages from your chosen Toner Cartridge. A top technique is to check out the product codes. Manufacturers normally use an ‘X’ to show they are high yield toners.
There are better from a price per page perspective (cost of toner divided by page yield). Page yield is computed by assuming a standard of 5% coverage per page- approximately two paragraphs per page. So, it might give an excellent page yield for the text and image-heavy work of many office printers but it is still a helpful guide when comparing toner cartridges to each other.
Toner is not the same as ink
Unlike toner, ink is a liquid that is sprayed onto the paper, meaning even after it dries, if the paper gets wet, it will bleed.
As toners use fast-drying plastic powders, it prevents documents from bleeding and smudging. Hence, be sure that you are buying a Toner Cartridge or an ink cartridge.
Intended use
It is of utmost importance to consider what types of materials you are printing and what quality you need in order to get the best value from your cartridge. For example, if you are printing out a high volume of black test prints jobs then you are not going to want to choose an expensive cartridge.
To get value for money, you would want to choose a cartridge specific for this job. But, if you need to print a color flyer, you would want a higher quality of toner, which might be more expensive but would give a bring, and crisp professional finish.
Conclusion
Buying your equipment from a reliable dealer can help avoid unnecessary issues in the future. You must always regard quality and reliability on the highest pedestal. Inks and toners are the best deals out there for all ink cartridges and toner cartridge-related issues. Their products are of good quality and offer users a seamless printing experience.
