7 Tips for Lowering Printing Costs With Aftermarket Toner Cartridges

Aftermarket toner cartridges are a fantastic way to reduce printing costs. They're a fraction of the OEM prices and those selling them often have great sales!

Yet anyone that has shopped for remanufactured toner cartridges can attest that it's a hit or miss. The market is flooded with cheap, low-quality products from overseas.

It's important you source toner cartridges from reputable sellers — like us!

Using compatible toner cartridges and remanufactured supplies saves a ton of money on printing costs. How else can you further squeeze every penny out of those printed pages? Try one (or all) of the suggestions in this guide!

1. Stick to Black/White or Grayscale

The metric you need to know about is the cost per page.

The cost per page is simply how much each page costs to print. There are a few factors that play into this like up-front costs for equipment. But, the main factor is the printing supplies used to produce the print page.

Printing in color costs about two to three times more than printing in black and white.

So, as you can expect, the easiest way to save money is to stick to black and white prints. Or, grayscale if you do need variance in the design. 

2. Be Mindful

Blindly mashing the print button could queue a whole lot of pages you don't need. Being mindful is one of the simplest, easiest ways to save on your printing costs.

What do we mean by being mindful? Well:

• Only print what you need and digitize the rest
• Reuse paper if the printout isn't super important
• Use the 'print selected area' so it's only the text

Little things like trimming off that extra page with just a footer. Or, converting a web page so it doesn't have all those ads and media elements. 

A simple change to the print density and print quality can reduce costs, too. All you need to do is check the box before confirming your print job. Your printer may have a "draft" mode that lowers the quality but still gets the job done.

3. Set Up Recurring Orders

Print management tools keep an eye on your supplies levels. When supplies get low, it'll send an order to the manufacturer and they'll send supplies. 

You won't really find this feature with aftermarket toner cartridge suppliers but you can replicate it (in a way).

Try something like this:

1. Figure out your average number of printed pages each month
2. Check ink/toner levels at the beginning and end of its lifecycle
3. Guesstimate how often you're replacing toner cartridges

You could then call up your suppliers and request recurring orders. Or, maybe just a courtesy call so you're reminded when supplies start to get low.

How does this save money? Well, you're removing those instances where supplies run out and you're forced to go to retailers. A little prep could save you that 50 to 70% (or more) plus a trip to the store and work downtime.

4. Troubleshoot Toner Cartridge Problems

Hundreds of millions of toner cartridges make their way to the landfill every year. You can do your part, and save money, by troubleshooting issues vs tossing it.

Gather your resources:

• Our common toner cartridge issues and troubleshooting guide
• Set up an account on a  toner cartridge forum like PrinterForums.net
• Write down the printer cartridge model # and list the problems

Work through a process of elimination.

Start with some of the easier fixes and work your way into the complex issues. If you've run into a hurdle, turn to social media to get some guidance. Or, you could always drop us a line at (514) 993-4142 and talk with our techs!

You'll likely find an easy solution to your toner cartridge problem. A few minutes of your time could get hundreds, even thousands, of more pages from the unit. 

5. Make the Upgrade

Make the upgrade to a toner-based machine if you're still using ink.

Ink is really, really expensive and no - buying a new, cheap printer because "it's cheaper than buying ink" isn't a smart solution.

Why make the leap to toner?

• Most toner cartridges do thousands (sometimes tens of thousands) of printed pages
• Availability of supplies are often higher quality because it's a better market

An upgrade applies to all of you using lower-end toner-based printers, too.

Look for those "workhorse" toner printers on eBay or at a liquidation. Older models are fine, too. You could luck out and find a workstation for cheap!

Remember this as well: fewer moving parts mean fewer potential problems. So, consider basic printers versus a multi-function with features you don't need. 

6. Create a Print Policy

Does your office have a print policy?

There's a likely chance that you don't even realize this was a thing! It's okay because many businesses don't have a print policy. Let's change that.

A print policy accounts for items like:

• Who or which department prints what
• What type of printing is being done
• How supplies and equipment are maintained
• Who's servicing the equipment
• Who will manage this print policy

The goal is to create responsibility and ownership of the print queue. It takes that mindfulness mentioned above and spreads it across the workforce.

The policy tracks all aspects of the print queue. Ultimately, it discovers and reduces waste and costs associated with the supplies.

7. Buy Supplies From a Reputable Supplier

Not to toot our own horn but have you seen our huge catalog and selection? 

As mentioned at the very start — there are a lot of suppliers in this market. A good chunk of those "deals" on eBay isn't exactly the highest quality printing supplies.

Do your research:

• Check out the build and remanufacturing quality
• Inquire about a supplier's refund policy and guarantee
• Look for discounts but not the "too good to be true" type
• See how they're active within their community and industry

The perfect supplies company will cater to your print needs.

Find the Best Aftermarket Toner Cartridges

Aftermarket toner cartridges are a great way to save money on printing costs. A little extra effort — as shared in this post — can further extend their value.

Look to PremiumToners.com when you're ready to buy supplies.

We offer amazing prices for the highest quality ink and toner cartridges. Plus, a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee (love it or get your money back).

Ready to start saving? Shop our premium printing supplies today!