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Inkjet & Toner Printer Cartridge Buying Guide

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Frankye Robinson
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Inkjet & Toner Printer Cartridge Buying Guide

Time to replace your ink or toner printer cartridges? This buying  guide will help you determine which ink and toner cartridges are compatible with your printers and your budget. 

There are three factors to consider when choosing replacement ink and toner printer cartridges:

Inkjet vs Laser: what kind of printer do you have? 
Standard vs. High Yield: how much do you typically print in a month? 
OEM vs Compatible: what's your budget.
OEM & Compatible Toner & Ink Buying Guide

Inkjet vs Laser Printer Cartridges.

Inkjet Printers: ideal for occasional color printing.

Inkjet printers are the most inexpensive printer option, and are ideal for occasional color printing. However, they have a relatively high operating cost, about 18-20 cents per page. Plus, inkjet cartridges have to be replaced more frequently than laser printer options.

Laser Printers: ideal for business offices.

Laser printer typically have a higher initial cost than inkjet printers, but are much cheaper to operate, only 2-4 cents per page. Plus, laser printer cartridges last longer because they have higher page yields. We'll talk more about printer cartridge page yields below. 

Recommend Inkjet Printers
Epson® Stylus c88+ Inkjet Printer
Epson® Stylus c88+ Inkjet Printer		 Brother® MFC-J5910DW Wireless All-in-One Inkjet Printer
Brother® MFC-J220 All-in-One Inkjet Printer

Recommended Laser Printers
HP LaserJet Pro P1606DN Laser Printer
HP LaserJet Pro P1606DN Laser Printer		 Oki® B4600 Digital Monochrome Laser Printer
Oki® B4600 Digital Monochrome Laser Printer
You can find more information on inkjet and laser printers in our buying guide.

Standard vs. High Yield Printer Cartridges.
Printer cartridge page yield is the biggest factor in printer operating costs. Page yield is the number of pages you can expect to print from a single printer cartridge. 

Standard Printer Cartridges

  • Standard Toner Cartridge: 2,000-3,000 pages
  • Standard Inkjet Cartridge: 200-300 pages

High Yield Printer Cartridges

  • High Yield Toner Cartridge: 8,000-10,000 pages
  • High Yield Inkjet Cartridge: 600-1,000 pages
Every printer cartridge manufacturer assumes 5% page coverage when calculating page yields. That means if you print documents in which the ink or toner covers more than 5% of the page, you will experience a lower than expected page yield. So page yield is an approximate but useful measure in matching your office printing load with the appropriate cartridges. 

OEM vs Compatible Toner & Inkjet Printer Cartridges.

OEM Toner & Inkjet Printer Cartridges.

OEM printer cartridges are made by your printer manufacturer to fit the specifications of your printer. So if you have a HP printer, the OEM replacement will be an HP printer cartridge. OEM printer cartridges contain the highest quality inks and toners. OEM is the most expensive printer cartridge refill options. 

Compatible Toner & Inkjet Printer Cartridges.

Compatible toner and ink cartridges are carefully recycled & refilled OEM printer cartridges, and are significantly cheaper than OEM. Recycled doesn't mean garbage, however. Compatible toner and ink cartridges are carefully engineered and produce quality results. Many of the leading printer manufacturers make compatible toner and inkjet printer cartridges. 

Recommended Compatible Toner & Ink Cartridges: 
Dataproducts Compatible Toner & Inkjet Printer Cartridges
Dataproducts Compatible Cartridges		 Innovera® Compatible Toner & Inkjet Printer Cartridges
Innovera Compatible Cartridges		 Skilcraft Compatible Toner & Inkjet Printer Cartridges
Skilcraft Compatible Cartridges		 Xerox Compatible Toner & Inkjet Printer Cartridges
Xerox Compatible Cartridges

Whether you choose OEM or compatible toner and inkjet printer cartridges, one sure-fire way to cut expenses is to order in bulk. On Time Supplies generally discounts orders of two or more printer cartridges. Not only do you reap significant savings, you don't have to worry about running out of toner or ink in the middle of a project. 

If you have any further questions about the inkjet and laser printer cartridges for sale at On Time Supplies, contact our customer service team toll free at 1-866-501-6055.
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