Longevity of color laser toners

[Scott Meyers]

I've used monochrome lasers for years and been very happy with them. Now I'm
thinking of upgrading to a color laser, but I'm wary, because I briefly owned a
color inkjet (HP), and I found out the hard way that if I didn't print in color
often enough, the inkjet ink went bad. More than once I had to replace
cartridges that were often 75% full. I got rid of the printer after than
happened twice.

If I get a color printer, I expect that I'll still print in color very
infrequently. (Having the color printer before didn't lead me to print in color
very often.) My experience with black laser toner has been that it lasts
basically forever (certainly years), and that's what I'm looking for in a color
printer, too. Can somebody comment on whether color laser printers have the
same "use it or lose it" ink problem that I experienced with my inkjet?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[ato_zee]

My experience with black laser toner has been that it lasts
basically forever (certainly years),

AFAIR HP quote 6 years for their black toner sealed in
it's original unopened bag, and 2 years after it has been
removed and installed. My experience is that this is
conservative.
Unless someone knows differently I'd expect it to be
the same for colour toner.
The deterioration mechanism is probably outgassing
of volatile plastic components in the toner as well as
oxidation.
I've known scavenger blades fail before all the toner
is used and I've attributed this to hardening with age.
With re-manufactured cartridges, and so called
equivalents, you may be buying someone elses
faulty cartridge.

 

[silenceseeker2003]

Scott, I have had the same exact experience that you described. That is
why I vowed to never purchase an ink jet printer again. I bought an
el-cheapo Samsung CLP-500 (color laser) about two years ago and since
then never had any problem. Another advantage of color laser over color
inkjet is that no calibration is required before starting to print. The
CLP-500 can also print duplex.

The only downside to color laser is that the smaller gamut, which
basically means that photos do not enjoy a wide color range. Its more
than OK for "business graphics", but not for photographs.

HTH,
Sam

 

[Tony]

I've used monochrome lasers for years and been very happy with them. Now I'm
thinking of upgrading to a color laser, but I'm wary, because I briefly owned
a
color inkjet (HP), and I found out the hard way that if I didn't print in
color
often enough, the inkjet ink went bad. More than once I had to replace
cartridges that were often 75% full. I got rid of the printer after than
happened twice.

If I get a color printer, I expect that I'll still print in color very
infrequently. (Having the color printer before didn't lead me to print in
color
very often.) My experience with black laser toner has been that it lasts
basically forever (certainly years), and that's what I'm looking for in a
color
printer, too. Can somebody comment on whether color laser printers have the
same "use it or lose it" ink problem that I experienced with my inkjet?

Thanks,

Scott

Scott
The process of printing colour with a laser is identical to printing black with
all laser printers. So there is no similarity at all with inkjets in this
regard, colour lasers use coloured toner not ink and there is no printhead to
clog or fail.
The cartridges have a realistic life of several years, usually longer than the
manufacturer' recommendations.
As someone else pointed out, the part in a toner cartridge that will probably
fail first (as a result of long term storage as opposed to during use) is the
wiper (scavenger) blade, this does eventually deteriorate but takes years
typically, remanufactured cartridges are fine provided you use a quality
supplier, in most cases wiper blades will survive perfectly for 3 or 4 refills
but premium remanufactured cartridges will probably have new blades installed
together with several other internal components.
The bottom line is no, there is no "use it or lose it" factor with lasers
whether monochrome or colour.
Tony

 

[Scott Meyers]

Thanks to each of you for your quick, helpful explanations that color toner
should have a long life, unlike color for inkjet printers.

Scott