Things to Consider When Buying Toner Cartridges

Unlike the printer, toner cartridges, or printer ink cartridges, get used up or depleted and therefore would need to be purchased and at regular intervals. This, of course, means that you would have to find ways to save when you are buying ink cartridges. If you don’t do that, you might end up spending more on the ink than on the printer itself.   

Ink cartridges, which are among the many components of the print system, contain the ink. In some printer brands, the cartridges also contain the print head. Using the printer brand’s technology and mechanism, printer takes this ink inside the cartridges and places it onto paper to produce the print out.

When buying toner cartridges, you need to decide if you want to go for original or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) ink cartridges or if you want to consider the less expensive alternatives. OEM ink cartridges give you the assurance of the brand’s proprietary technologies. These generally produce high quality prints that are resistant to fading. Brand name toners, however, would take a chunk out of your budget. Less expensive options would be third party toners like remanufactured toners and compatible toners. If the print outs are mostly for internal use, you will be better off with less expensive toners.    

Compatible toner cartridges are less expensive than OEM toners. The operative word here is “compatible.” This means that the cartridge is compatible with or will work with your printer but it’s not from the manufacturer of the printer. Remanufactured ink cartridges, on the other hand, are recycled cartridges. They’ve been cleaned, inspected and then tested to ensure that they meet standards. To make sure you are not getting third party ink cartridges that will leak or conk out or dry up way too early, buy only from reliable vendors of printer ink. The vendor, whether online or a brick and mortar store, should have a good track record and preferably has been in business for a number of years.  

If you know how and have done it before, you might want to consider refilling your old cartridges yourself. There are stores that sell kits for refilling old cartridges. But if you don’t know how to refill printer ink, avoid disaster – like getting the printer ink all over the carpet and the rest of your work area – and have it done professionally.

Consider buying your toners in bulk. A number of office supplies vendors offer great discounts when you buy in large quantities. If it is not quite practical or doable for you to buy in bulk, try buying in multipacks or combo packs or dual packs. These packs often let you get the toners at discounted prices. While you’re at it, find out if there are other discounts and if there are store promos so that you can find more ways to make the most of your purchase. 

Remember to check the expiry dates of the toner cartridges. This is very important if you are buying in bulk – so you know right away if you will be able to use up all that printer ink within the period before the expiry date.