Laser toner cartridges can be expensive. Generally speaking, the higher the page yield, the more expensive the cartridge. However, the higher the page yield, the lower the cost per page. Simple economy of scale. That's also why it is a lot less expensive to print high volumes with a laser toner based machine than with an ink-based machine (ink cartridges are small and have much lower page yields).



Regardless of being more economical than the inkjet printers, the cost of original brand (OEM) laser toner cartridges can be extremely unbearable. The laser toner cartridge for a popular printer model like the Canon L50 toner costs about $160. This is just a small machine for the average SOHO or small office. You can imagine what the toner cost might be for some of the more expensive machines in the corporate environment. The HP 9000 series (C8543X toner) costs about $270, the Lexmark T620/T622 Series (12A6865 Toner) costs about $380 and these are just a few examples!

The big printer manufacturers depends on these high priced supplies to make money and who can blame them? Sometimes you can find new laser printers at such low prices that you wonder if they actually make money selling them. A lot of times they probably don't, so they depend on the high priced laser toner and other supplies to get the profit coming in AFTERWARDS. And furthermore, they want you to ONLY buy from them, so that they can milk you for the supplies over and over again, as much as possible, until you buy a new printer! And when you do buy a new printer, the cycle starts all over again. Clever for them, but too bad for you, right?

Well, not exactly. For the smart shoppers, there is a cheaper solution! The solution is using "compatible" laser toner cartridges. By compatible, I'm simply referring to toner cartridges made by an aftermarket company. Now depending on the cartridge models and their popularity, some compatibles are 100% new while others are professionally remanufactured. If from a reputable company, either type would be fine. On average, you can save around 50% off the OEM cartridge price, and sometimes even upwards of 70% off!

Now obviously the big OEM companies don't want you to buy your laser toner cartridges (or other supplies) from anyone else but them, so you can understand why they would highly discourage you from using anything BUT their own brand. There is even a misconception out there that if you use a non-OEM cartridge such as a generic cartridge, you will void your printer's warranty. THIS IS NOT TRUE! As a matter of fact, it is illegal for them to do so. Imagine Sony telling you that you'd void your warranty if you don't use Sony brand batteries in your CD player. See the logic? This is also clearly stated in the "MAGNUSON-MOSS WARRANTY IMPROVEMENT ACT" passed by the US Congress.

In the event your under-warranty printer is not functioning correctly, You can easily find out if the cartridge is causing it by sticking in an original cartridge and see if the problem still exists. It is a good habit to keep a partially full original brand cartridge on hand just to be able to verify for yourself, so you know whether the printer is defective or a particular cartridge is at fault. Also, when and if you do have a service technician come in to service your machine under warranty, they can't use the excuse that the printer is not working right due to the compatible cartridge. (Apparently, this lame excuse is used quite often).

In conclusion, you can save thousands of dollars over the life of your laser printer when you switch over to compatible laser toner cartridges. Just make sure you choose a reputable company who is specialized in , and not just a general ink selling outfit. Also, make sure there is a solid 365-day warranty on all products so that in the event you have ANY problems, you can get a replacement quickly.