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The Cost of Cartridges
When you purchase most items, it’s a one-time transaction. Did you buy a new salad spinner? You’ve got it for life. A new pair of pants? You can wear them ‘til they’re full of holes. But when it comes to some products, there’s a hidden cost. Maybe you’ve encountered this in the world of razors, where the costs of blades quickly surpass that of the razors themselves. Or maybe you bought a printer on a deep discount, only to find out a single ink refill was the same price.
While a printer purchase may seem like a one-time transaction, it’s often the start of a lasting relationship with your printer’s manufacturer.
When purchasing a new printer, you want to make sure you understand the fine print: how much refill cartridges costs, and how long they will last. This guide is designed to explain how you can expect your ink cartridge to keep printing your documents so you’re never stuck with the unanticipated cost of new ink.
Know Your Printers
How long will ink last in a printer? It all depends on the kind of printer. Most homes and offices have one of two types of printers: either an inkjet or a laser printer. They use two different inks, inkjet cartridges and toner, respectively. There is a common misconception that laser printers only print in black-and-white, but nowadays, both kinds of printers are suited for color print jobs.
If you’re looking to avoid the high cost of printer ink, it pays to know the differences between these two types of printers, since their inks have different lifespans.
Inkjet Printers
Inkjet printers use inkjet cartridges filled with liquid ink. Heat or vibration forces the cartridge to spray ink on to the page, printing your documents. These printers are very popular for home use as they:
- Excel at printing high-quality images
- Print somewhat slowly, and are not suited to high-volume print jobs
- Use cartridges that dry out over time
Laser Printers
Laser printers use toner cartridges, which contain dried, powdered ink made of polyester. This ink is positively charged so that the printer’s drum can electrically adhere it to negatively charged paper. These printers have long been popular in offices, but are increasingly popular in homes, too because they:
- Excel at printing high-volume jobs
- Complete jobs quickly, and are suited for frequent printing
- Can print medium-quality color images
Assessing Your Printer Use
Although your movie tickets and term papers might look the same whether you’re using an inkjet or a laser printer, their methods for printing are very different. This means that their cartridges have different lifespans. However, for both types of ink, you can estimate your cartridge’s lifespan based on your printing habits.
Page Yield
How many pages do you print per week? Per year? Once you have an estimate, you can compare it to the anticipated page yield of your printer’s cartridge.
Page yield is the anticipated number of pages your printer can print. Most brands sell ink with three different levels of page yield. Let’s take a look at the differences in the estimated page yield. For the very same Dell printer, you could buy:
- Regular ink with an estimated page yield of 200 pages
- Extra-high yield ink with an estimated page yield of 750 pages
Many brands have “high yield” ink, too, which falls somewhere in the middle. But be wary of these numbers: page yield is calculated based on business documents like emails, memos, and CVs. These documents may only cover 5% to 20% of a page, so if you tend to print dense documents or images, your actual page yield may be much lower.
Page yield can help you anticipate your printer’s lifespan: if you only print once a week, an extra high yield cartridge might go along way, especially in a laser printer, considering toner cartridges never dry out.
Printing Less Might Not Mean a Longer Lifespan
While page yield is helpful for estimating your ink’s lifespan, there are some caveats when it comes to inkjet ink. While toner cartridges are dry and never expire inkjet inks are liquid, and like any other liquid in your home—from OJ to perfume—its characteristics change over time.
Inkjet ink usually expires within two years. If you haven’t reached your page yield by then, you most likely won’t: your cartridge may continue to print, but it will eventually dry out entirely. This is when replacement cartridges are necessary.
Sometimes, your ink will expire before that. If you print infrequently or you keep your printer turned off most of the time, your print heads may clog. Turning your printer on and printing at least once a week allows it to run its maintenance cycle, prolonging the lifespan of your ink cartridge and getting you closer to the maximum page yield.
Instant Ink When You Need it
There’s nothing more frustrating than running out of printer ink when you’re ready to submit an important document. You can find a wide variety of regular and high yield inkjet and laser print cartridges at Supplies Outlet. We ship in 1-2 days to 95% of U.S. locations so you can always get ink when you need it the most.
Sources:
Consumer Reports. “Ways to Save Money on Printer Ink.” https://www.consumerreports.org/printers/ways-to-...
Business News Daily. “Laser vs. Inkjet Printers.” https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/11305-laser-vs-...