There are two major types of toner on the market: bottled toner and toner cartridges. Bottled toner is plain toner in a plastic bottle. It is typically used with photocopiers and is simply poured into a toner container within the machine.

Toner cartridges are more complex units, consisting of toner plus an imaging drum, all packaged in a plastic case. Laser printers and fax machines most often use toner cartridges, although many low-end copiers do as well. Toner cartridges cost more than bottle toner, but are also usually easier to find.