Finding Your Printer Series and Model

You can find your printer's series and model number on the product itself (front, back, top or underneath the top cover) or in the owner's manual, invoices and receipts and other documents. In the example below, the printer models are indicated with red markings:

Cartridge Types

Original or OEM

OEM (original equipment manufacturer) cartridges are new cartridges that are designed, manufactured and distributed by a printer manufacturer for use in a specific printer series bearing the same brand name (such as HP cartridges for HP printers).

These type of Cartridges can be more expensive than other options, mainly because these cartridges are designed simultaneously with the hardware through extensive research and development.

Remanufactured

A cartridge that has been used, remanufactured and refilled with ink or toner. To varying degrees, the cartridge may have been taken apart, cleaned and had parts replaced. Remanufacturing keeps used cartridges out of landfills, making this an environmentally friendly option.

Remanufactured cartridges are often cheaper than new OEM cartridges

Compatible or non-OEM New Build

An ink or toner cartridge designed to work with a particular printer, but not manufactured by the company that manufactured the printer in which the cartridge is intended to be used. These cartridges are produced using mostly new or all-new parts and components.

Compatible cartridges are often cheaper than new OEM cartridges.

Basics of Ink Verses Toner 

What's the difference between ink and toner cartridges?

Things to Consider when buying Ink or Toner

Cartridge Yield

  • The printing industry measures how long a cartridge will last with page yield, which is an estimated number of pages you can print with a given printer and cartridge. Results may vary from the estimate depending upon what is printed, how often it is printed, and printer power cycling.
  • Many printers have the ability to use cartridges of varying yields (standard yield, high yield or super high yield).
  • A cartridge with high yield may cost more, but can help reduce your overall cost per page.

Cartridge Warranty and Expiry

  • Ink cartridges, depending on the manufacturer, can have a "best before," "use by" or "warranty ends" date printed on the packaging. This date can represent when the manufacturer’s warranty ends and optimal performance is no longer guaranteed.
  • Toner cartridges do not have "best before" or "use by" dates.

Cartridge Shelf Life and Storage

  • Ink cartridge shelf life can vary by manufacturer and storage conditions. Original ink with intact outer packaging can last up to 12 to 18 months after "best before" or "use by" dates. Original ink cartridges that have been taken out of their outer packaging can last 3 to 4 months after “best before” or "use by" dates.

  • Toner cartridges have unlimited shelf life.

Information About Toners

The term toner refers to the dry "ink" plastic powder used to print by printers, copiers and fax machines that use a laser printing process. Unlike the ink used in inkjet printers, which is liquid sprayed onto the page and allowed to dry, toner is put on the page then run through a heating process that melts the plastic onto the paper. Since toner is not a liquid, it does not experience the "bleeding" that ink can if the paper gets wet after printing.

As you shop for replacement toner and toner cartridges for your printer, copier, fax machine or multi-function device (MFD), you may have come across terms you were unfamiliar with, or may have had questions about what type of toner you should buy. We hope this buying guide helps make your toner shopping experience a little easier. This section is a brief overview, and for more detail, browse through other sections, especially Attributes.

Get the toner for your model: Usually, the easiest way to find your toner is by the manufacturer's part number of the toner (sometimes printed on the cartridge/bottle or on the printer/copier/fax itself). If the part number isn't available, most vendors will have a way to browse to the exact product you need (for example, our Quick Search or Browse Our Catalog page) using the manufacturer's name and the model number of the printer/copier/fax.

Get the appropriate type of toner: Many vendors will offer the original manufacturer's (OEM) brand and a less expensive compatible brand. (see the Attributes section for more information)

Choose the best option: Some toner cartridges are available with higher-yield options. If one is available, the longer-life, higher-yield cartridge will generally cost less per copy, saving you money and time.

Don't forget to order all colors: Generally, color laser printers use a different toner cartridge for each color. If one cartridge runs out, you may wish to order the other colors to have them on hand when they are empty, too.

Order ahead: If not exposed to heat or excessive moisture and kept in the original, sealed packaging, toner cartridges have quite a long shelf life. Keeping an extra on hand (of each color if your printer is a color device) will help you be sure that when the current cartridge is empty, you will not have a delay waiting for the new one.

Think carefully about refill toner: Refill kits are not recommended except by technicians who are trained to use refill kits properly. It’s typically not just a 'fill and forget' process. There are sometimes many steps involved which vary depending on model and manufacturer. If not done correctly, refilled cartridges can result in quite a mess in your printer or copier.

Once you receive your new cartridge, there are a couple of other points to be aware of:

Before installing your cartridge, shake it to loosen toner that has compacted during shipping. The best method to do this is to hold the cartridge level with one hand on each end of the cartridge and shake it gently from side to side.

Check the old cartridge before disposing of it. On some models, the toner and drum units appear to be one unit; however, the toner is actually a separate unit, and requires re-use of the drum cartridge. Be sure what you are disposing of is the same as what you purchased.

Install carefully; never force the cartridge into the machine.

If print quality is important, use high-quality paper. This is often overlooked and can improve

your print quality whether you are using OEM or compatible toner.

Toner Attributes

Types of Toner - There are several terms to describe the types of toner, but they generally fall into three categories: OEM, compatible, and MICR. Following are explanations of each type:

OEM Toner

OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Toner, also called genuine or original, is toner or a toner cartridge that has been manufactured by the company or by a factory authorized by the company who produced your specific device.

Compatible Toner

Compatible Toner, which is another term for a generic, refurbished or remanufactured cartridge, is toner that was manufactured by a company other than the OEM. In some cases, these use 100% new parts designed as closely as possible to the original. In others, the toner cartridge may be built from a combination of new and recycled parts. Our new compatible toner cartridges use all new parts, and are indicated on our site by the phrase '100% New Compatible' in the product description. Our remanufactured compatible toners are built using cores (original assemblies) that have only been used once, with new drums (the part that experiences the most wear and tear) installed when applicable. Because quality of a compatible toner cartridge can vary between different manufacturers, we use only high-quality suppliers, and continually monitor the quality of the cartridges and toner we provide in our compatible line. They are comparable in quality to the OEM cartridges and are rated to perform just as long as OEM toner cartridges.

MICR Toner

MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) toner is a specialized type which can be magnetized by a reader machine and then "read" by the machine with complete accuracy. For bank reader machines used in North America (and many other countries worldwide), the bottom line of a check must be printed in this magnetic toner. Routing numbers on checks provided by your bank have been printed using MICR toner. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is responsible for developing the standards we use today for all MICR toner, which include standards for MICR fonts, toner adhesion, MICR registration, toner signal strength, moisture content and paper grain. MICR toner is used in specialized printing applications only, such as check and automatic draft printing.

Toner Page Yield

Toner page yield refers to approximately how many pages a toner cartridge can be expected to print. The manufacturer typically calculates these numbers based on the industry standard of 5% coverage as specified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO/IEC). To understand the amount of print that makes up 5% coverage, imagine 1-2 paragraphs of text on a page. Pages with more text or pages that include images have more than 5% coverage, and will use more toner when printed.

Toner Colors

Printers and copiers fall into two classes: monochrome (black and white) and color. Color printing (also known as CMYK printing) uses 4 colors in total. These colors are:

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