A Guide to Buying Toner Cartridge

A toner is actually the dry power which is put in the laser printers, photocopier, and laser fax machines. It is filled to reproduce images and text clearly on a piece of paper. A laser printer is good for schools and businesses which put increasing volume of text due to the quick drying toner. It offers a fine detail to the text.

How Does the Toner Work?

The toner is a powder which has two different parts, the plastic, and the pigment. The pigment offers color to the images and text. It is then blended into the plastic so that the toner melts when it is put through the heat fuser of the printer. This way it binds the paper in order to make sure that there is no bleeding or smudges.

Things to Consider for the Laser Toner Cartridge

Prior to purchasing the toner cartridge, there are numerous things that you need to consider. Some toner cartridges are specific to particular model which is being used. There are also different types of toners and various color options. You should consider the use of your toner cartridge, too. For instance, one of toner cartridge might be good for color flyers, while another might be good for large-volume black printing. Here are some things that you need to consider.

Model

The best way decide what kind of laser toner cartridge you require is to look at the part number of the manufacturer. You will find this on the fax machine, copier, or printer. You might also find it in the manual which comes with the device. If you are unable to find the part number, look for the model number of the printer. Most of the time, the manufacturers provides a way to find the model number so that the users are able to find adequate toner cartridge.

Quality

The manufacturer of the device usually sells the specific type of toner which is required by each device. However, the toner cartridge sold by the manufacturers is generally expensive. There are several third-party companies which sell the cartridges at a less price. You will find such third-party toner cartridge over the internet or in a retail store. You can also consider purchasing remanufactured cartridges. This is basically a reconditioned originally manufactured cartridge which has been refilled, mostly by the original manufacturer. In case, the printer is being used for business purpose then you should consider using a cartridge that has been originally manufactured. While, for personal use you can choose a cheaper cartridge but it might not offer fine detail.

Color Tone Cartridges

When you are printing flyers, menus, postcards, and banners, you might require colored toner cartridge. Usually, each color toner needs different kinds of cartridges. The three different colors which are used in the cartridge are magenta, cyan, and yellow. When the printed image has a greenish tint, the magenta is seen to be empty. If the image that you printed has a purple then the yellow cartridge might have to be replaced. Colors printers might soon become an expensive purchase and you will have to pay more for different colored cartridges.

Miki Barzig is an author/writer, a Marine Corps veteran and a perpetual student of art, journaling and life. She has written for several national and trade publications and continues to build her library with her own publications.