Toner is a dry, powder-like substance that acts as the "ink" for a wide range of office equipment, including copiers, laser printers, and many fax machines.

While most businesses spend a great deal of time deciding how much to pay for the equipment, they rarely pay as much attention to the toner. However, over the life of the equipment, the cost of toner needed to operate a machine can be many times the cost of the equipment itself.

This guide is designed to give you the facts you need to shop around for less expensive sources of toner. The various sections are listed in the box above. You can choose to read this guide from beginning to end, or jump directly to a section of interest.

Types of Toner

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.

Options for Buying Toner

Although different types of toner can look quite similar to the naked eye, they can differ greatly in terms of their properties and actual makeup. As a result, toner that works in one machine may not necessarily work in another.

However, this does not mean that you are limited to the specific type of toner specified by the manufacturer. Many models, particularly laser printers, can often use the same exact toner. In addition, there are vendors that produce generic versions of popular types of toner.

Vendors

Toner is sold through many different sources, including office equipment dealers, office supply stores, computer stores, and toner dealers.

Office equipment dealers are typically expensive sources for toner. Dealers usually derive a good percentage of their profits from supplies such as toner and parts, and are not very willing to cut margins. Instead, dealers often use scare tactics, telling buyers that only the type of toner they sell is suitable for their particular machine.

Office supply stores and computer stores usually sell only toner cartridges. There are comparatively fewer varieties of toner cartridges than bottled toner, which allows these stores to stock fewer items. Pricing from these outlets can be quite good, particularly for popular brands.

Toner dealers are businesses that specialize in selling toner and other office equipment supplies. These stores typically sell both bottle toner and toner cartridges, often at prices that are significantly below those of an office equipment dealer.

The Risks of Bad Toner

Using toner from alternate sources is unlikely to cause damage to office equipment, despite what many dealers claim. The worst that can happen is that the toner is incompatible with the developer, which can strip the gears of the unit or contaminate the reservoir.

Usually the only problem is inferior image quality, a problem that can easily be solved by switching to a better toner.

Assessing Quality

Before you buy toner, document the quality and cost effectiveness of your current brand, noting how long a cartridge or bottle lasts and the quality of printing.

When you buy new toner, make sure it properly fits into your machine, and then test some pages. Compare the output with pages from the old batch, watching for streaking or gray areas.

As you use the toner, note how many pages it produces. If it does not last as long as previous supplies, make sure the price is low enough to make up for the shortage.

Pricing

On average, new toner cartridges typically cost $120 if bought from the manufacturer, $100 if from the dealer, and $90 from an alternate toner supplier. Over the course of a year, you can expect to save about $250 per machine in your office by shopping around.

Buying Tips

Mail order caution
Watch out for mail order equipment dealers that offer great deals on toner. Some may be scams that try to sell large volumes of counterfeit or poorly-made toner at greatly discounted prices.

Evaluate toner separately for each type of equipment
If you find a compatible brand that sells good toner for one piece of equipment, do not assume that their toner is good for all your machines. Many firms re-brand toner from other manufacturers, making it necessary to evaluate toner on a model by model basis.

Minimizing your exposure
It can be smart to check references and ask for guarantees when buying toner from a new supplier. Compatible brands should have a money-back guarantee in case the toner is of poor quality. Also look for a guarantee to cover damage caused by the toner.

Recycled toner cartridges
Recycled toner cartridges can save you as much as $30 per cartridge. Recycled means that the cartridge case and some of the internal parts come from used OEM cartridges. This is a relatively easy business to enter, so watch for bad deals and poor quality cartridges.

Avoiding scams
Two ways to help avoid toner phone scams are to never give someone your machine's model number and never make a purchase from an incoming caller.