February 10, 2025
Whether you’re considering making the switch from inkjet to toner, or you’ve suddenly been appointed your printer’s key operator, a little knowledge about toner can go a long way.
In a nutshell, toner and ink are not the same, and many of the same rules don’t apply. In this blog, we’ll explore what toner actually is and how to make sure you’re using it correctly.
What Is Toner?
Toner is a fine powder that contains plastic, carbon, and coloring 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 Should You 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 organization.
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 the purposes of 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
- Color laser cartridges — 1,000-5,000 pages.
Does Printer Toner Go Bad if It’s Not Used?
On the shelf, ink cartridges can last one to two years if they're properly packed and stored. After that, they can start drying out and could potentially damage your device. However, inside your machine, your ink cartridges should last 8 months in the printer.
Pro tip: Don’t use expired ink cartridges. It’s not worth damaging your equipment. If maintaining the proper backstock (not too much and not too little) is an issue for your workplace, look into automated supply ordering options instead! Some managed print service providers will offer this service as a stand-alone offering.
Toner powder can also degrade but it has a longer shelf life when stored properly — 24-36 months.
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 color or darkness
- Frequent paper jams
- Visible toner clumps
- Blank areas on the page
- An error message on your device
How Should You Store Toner?
To prolong the life of your toner, here are some storage do’s:
- Store it in a cool, dry place
- Keep it in its original packaging
- Stack cartridges horizontally to avoid compressing toner
Here’s what will shorten the life of your toner:
- Excessive heat (over 90°)
- High humidity (over 50%)
- Direct sunlight
How Can You Make Toner Last Longer?
Besides storing it properly, here are our top tips to make the same cartridge last longer and save your office some serious money:
- Use slimmer fonts
- Enable money-saving defaults (lower print density, black-and-white printing, or printing in draft mode)
- Encourage staff to double-check documents before printing and only print when necessary
Other Ways To Cut Print Costs
Cutting print costs is a worthy goal. Unless you’re carefully managing and tracking print costs, they tend to be an organization’s third-highest expense after rent and payroll! Here are a few ways to make sure your devices aren’t silent budget killers:
Automated Supply Ordering
We mentioned this one earlier, but it’s especially great for organizations that only have a few printing devices, where a managed print services program wouldn’t be a great fit. With automated supply ordering, a print provider will install sophisticated software onto your printing devices that will monitor ink and toner levels and send you the correct supplies just in time to help you avoid waste and incorrect orders.
In the past, this type of software couldn’t effectively monitor all devices by all manufacturers equally well. But software has come a long way, and a provider that’s kept up with the times should be able to automate supply orders regardless of manufacturer. As a bonus, you’ll be less vulnerable to office supply scams!
Managed Print Services
If maintaining your printers is a frequent source of frustration at your office, you rely on printing for key workflows, and you’d like to improve your cybersecurity while reducing print costs, you might want to look into managed print services — where the management, maintenance, and optimization of your printing devices is outsourced to a third-party expert.
Click the link below to read our complete guide, including provider red flags to watch out for!
