No one likes having to replace toner cartridges.
Toner can be messy, expensive, and replacing a cartridge can be time consuming if you’re not a seasoned pro. If you’re having to spend hours of time replacing toner cartridges, then you’re losing out on valuable time and money that could be spent on important work tasks.
Besides, there’s so much information out there about toner that it’s difficult to figure out what kind of toner to buy or how often to replace your toner cartridge after installation.
As Xerox Diamond Authorized Solution Partners, our print experts at STPT are well-versed in printer toner and other print supplies.
We want to use our insider information to help you understand key print terms so that you can make smart business decisions when it comes to your printer.
In this article, we will explain what OEM toner is, its pros and cons, and how using OEM toner can benefit your business.
What Is Printer Toner?
Printer toner is usually a dry, powdery substance contained within a cartridge. Laser printers and photocopiers use toner that comes in sets of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, (CMYK) which produces a variety of color mixtures.
Toner is a substance applied to printer paper to create a printed or copied image.
Laser color printers can use a variety of toner cartridge types, including OEM print toner, newly manufactured compatible toners, like the Xerox Everyday Toner, and drill and fill toners.
Every toner cartridge has an estimated page yield, or an approximate number of pages that can be printed using a single cartridge of print toner. Manufacturers publish page yield so consumers can figure out how many pages they can print on average with a toner cartridge.
However, estimated page yield varies based on user experience, brand compatibility, and type of toner used.
One way to maximize page yield is to use a high-quality brand-specific toner that is designed specifically for your printer.
What Is OEM Printer Toner?
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer toner, which is made by your printer manufacturer to work with your specific machine.
Because OEM printer toner is designed to work with your specific printer, it is typically the best toner for maximizing print quality and reliability.
OEM toner is the preferred toner option because it is designed to print more documents at a high quality than generic toners. It also is tested and designed for your machine, which decreases the likelihood of excessive wear and tear on your printer.
OEM toner is best for a company or team that requires high volume or high-quality printer capability.
Using OEM toner helps maximize your machine’s print capacity, which is why it is a good choice for a business that requires high-quality prints. If you want high-quality prints with minimal time constraints, then OEM toner is a good choice because it ensures your prints are visually appealing and cost effective for your business, without requiring a large time commitment from you.
For example, a business that makes lots of marketing materials may need to use OEM toner to ensure print quality remains consistently high, and using a non-OEM toner could lead to more printing issues over time, which would mean more re-prints and toner waste for the business. This would eventually lead to higher material costs because the business would need to replace their toner and buy printer paper more often.
There are also options for receiving laser printer toner and other print materials as automatic shipments, which can make the replacement process simpler for busy teams that aren’t keeping track of their toner usage. Managed Print Services (MPS) may also be a good idea for a business that needs to keep an eye on their toner usage and supplies.
