Whether you print a few pages per month out of your home office or need to manage a busy office floor, understanding the ins and outs of your devices can help you make the right choices for your needs.
One of the most common questions we hear regards the differences between toner-based printers and ink-based printers. So, what is printer toner, anyway, and how does it compare to other printing options?
We’ve compiled this guide on printer toner to cover everything you need to know. As the #1 dealer of toner reverse logistics in the United States, we’ve studied all of the intricate details of printer supplies here at SellToner.com.
If you’ve ever wondered what to do with unused ink cartridges and toners, consider selling them with us! As part of a nationwide OEM network, we are able to offer the best prices and offers within 24 hours.
With that, let’s turn our attention to learning everything there is to know about printer toner.
What is Printer Toner?
Okay, so what is printer toner?
Printer toner allows laser printers and photocopiers to recreate images and text. You can find printer toner suitable for several different laser printer brands, all in a variety of color pigments. Unlike liquid-based ink, printer toner is a powdery substance, electrically charged to offer several advantages over ink. The details of the composition of printer toner will help explain its myriad benefits, so let’s discuss those next.
What is Printer Toner Made Of?
So, we know there’s a powdery substance on the inside, but what is printer toner made of, actually?
The powder-like substance of printer toner is made with plastic particles coated in carbon. This consistency allows for printer toner to stick to paper when heated by a laser-based printer. The carbon powder used in printer toner determines the pigment you will receive.
For example, black printer toner is made of black ground carbons, while color toners are created with cyan, yellow, and magenta-based carbons.
Many printer toners also include wax, such as polyethylene, to help lower the melting point of the powder, ensuring a smooth print job without overheating your device.
All combined together, the unique blend of plastics, carbons, and wax helps to create vibrant printouts. Similarly, if you’ve ever wondered, what is printer ink made of, you can check out our guide on the topic as well.
Now that you have an understanding of what printer toner is, how does it compare to ink? Let’s discuss that next.
What is Toner for Printer Used for Instead of Ink?
Toner and ink both play a crucial role in assisting the printing needs of a business or home. However, their composition and results are significantly different from one another, requiring us to do more research to find the best fit for each scenario.
Quality and Durability of Prints
The powder-like substance of toner is built to last. Unlike liquid-based ink, powder toner allows for precise printouts with sharp text and crisp images. The powder in toner is also significantly more resistant to smudging and moisture damage compared to liquid inks.
This is because of the electrostatic reaction between toners and paper which creates a formidable chemical bond that is difficult to disrupt. Conversely, liquid inks ‘spray’ their results onto the page, making them more vulnerable.
High-Volume Printing Environments
Toner powder is significantly more effective as your volume of printing rises. Toner cartridges are able to hold more effective substances than liquid inks. The break-even point is around a hundred pages or so per month, which can easily be surpassed for most businesses.
Toner powder also will not dry out or cause clogging, unlike the liquid formulation of ink.
Professional and Business Settings
With just a mere hundred pages per month required to break even, toners are a much more financially viable choice for most offices and businesses. Toner printers are also better suited for creating sensitive and vital documents that need to avoid smudging and other long-term damage.
Longevity and Storage of Printed Documents
Thanks to the electrostatic bond toner forms with paper, you will find that toner printers are capable of creating long-lasting documents that stand the test of time. Since the bond is locked in chemically, toner printouts are capable of retaining their sharpness and vibrancy even when stored in higher-risk locations like archives and file boxes with variable temperatures.
When Would Traditional Ink Be Better Than Toner?
When shopping for office supplies, you probably have wondered why ink cartridges are so expensive, and why anyone would choose an ink-based printer over a toner-based printer.
Traditional ink printers can still match or even exceed toner-based printers when working with high-quality photos and graphics. These printers have a higher resolution capacity and color richness which can make those images pop.
Ink printers are also generally more cost-efficient if you are using them for personal use at home, with toner becoming more economically viable only after a hundred pages a month or so.
Of course, your machine’s quality will ultimately matter more than the choice between ink and toner. Investing in printers with the cheapest ink can lead to inferior printouts, while a high-quality printer with top-of-the-line ink can easily keep pace with toner-based printers.
Overall, printer toner is one of the most versatile tools you can use in your home or office to improve the results of your printer jobs drastically. Toner is an excellent investment, but there are a few secret tips to remember to make the most of your purchase.
Tips on Using Printer Toner
Now that you know all of the science behind toner and how it compares to ink, all that is left is to figure out how to use it for your home or business. We’ll be covering everything from which toner to choose to how to upkeep your printer in order to maximize long term value.
Choosing the Right Toner Cartridge
Your printer is only as good as the toner or ink you supply it with. While you may be tempted to search for what brand printer has the cheapest ink and toner options, trying to reach for bargains can be disastrous in the long term.
When shopping for toner, you want to begin by looking for branded cartridges built for your specific model of printer. These toners are specifically formulated with the correct blend of powder and carbons to ensure your device operates smoothly.
You can often do further research to figure out how many pages you can expect to receive per toner cartridge, which can be especially important with high-volume shops.
Proper Installation of Toner Cartridges
When you open your laser printer and are met with machinery, the idea of installing your new cartridge can seem daunting. Thankfully, the process is usually built with ease in mind.
Research your specific model to learn the installation process as best as you can. You’ll want to ensure you seat your cartridges securely into their slots without shaking your cartridges or touching the laser housing.
We also recommend printing a test page to ensure you are getting proper results. Additionally, we’ve created a guide on how to put ink in a printer if you also use inkjet devices.
Optimizing Toner Usage for Maximum Efficiency
Ordering new batches of toner can really put a hole in your budget, so you’ll want to maximize the results you get with each cartridge. There are a few settings you can tweak based on your specific device to make the most of the toner you do have.
Consider lowering the printout resolution, lowering saturation and brightness, or using greyscale to help you save toner. This can be especially useful with text-only documents. You’ll also want to ensure your printer is turned off when not in use, as idling your printer can help preserve your cartridges over time.
Best Practices for Toner Cartridge Care and Maintenance
Printer toner is a valuable product, so you want to ensure you are protecting your investment. Store your printer toner in a safe location that is at room temperature and out of the way of direct sunlight or moisture. You also want to inspect your cartridges to ensure the caps or seals are still locked on.
You should also perform regular maintenance on your printer. We recommend wiping it down with a soft cloth towel. Consult your device’s manual to ensure you are following proper procedures and avoiding any damage to the laser housing or other mechanical parts.
Safety Tips When Handling Toner
If you’ve ever tried in vain to learn how to get ink off skin, you know that safety is paramount when swapping out ink and toner. While toner is generally non-toxic, there are a few tips to keep in mind to ensure a safe experience.
You want to ensure your toner cartridges remain with their seals on unless you are in the process of installing or replacing them. You can also consider wearing a mask to avoid inhaling any of the powder within.
You can wipe off any dust or excess powder with a dry cloth and wash with water if you do end up with any on your skin. Gloves can also be a smart choice if you are replacing many cartridges at once.
Lastly, be sure to keep cartridges out of reach of children and pets if you have a printer in your home office.
You now know everything you need to get started, but before you run off to shop for toner, let’s briefly recap things.
Wrapping Up Our Beginner’s Guide to Printer Toner
Our deep dive into printer toner has come to an end, with all of the myriad benefits laid out in front of you. So, what is toner for printers, and what is printer toner made of?
Printer toner is a powder blend of plastics and carbon, allowing laser-based printers to produce premium-quality printouts through the power of an electrostatic reaction. Toner is also quite economically efficient for small business owners and large corporations alike, being cheaper than ink printers at volumes over a hundred pages per month.
Whether you already have printers to upkeep or are looking to invest in a new one, it’s important to do your research. Our blog here at SellToner.com has released several guides to help you learn the ins and outs of everything to do with printers, ink, and toners.
Some of our latest work includes how to tell if an ink cartridge is empty, how to fix dry ink cartridges, answering the question of do ink cartridges expire, and a look at how to make printer ink last longer.
We also have brand-specific guides on how to change ink in HP printers and how to change the ink on an Epson printer.
Once you’ve done your research, all that is left is for you to start shopping. If you have found yourself with surplus toner or ink from a bulk order, consider selling your extra supplies. SellToner.com is the best place for small businesses and large corporations alike to sell toner, ink, and printing supplies. We are part of a national OEM network that purchases new cartridges for resale.
We are also the only toner resellers in the United States that provide instant offers to help you get paid within a day. We also work with our sister company, Supply Link USA, to sell wholesale ink and toner products.
If you are interested in buying or selling printer supplies, reach out to our compassionate and knowledgeable customer support team today!
