Have you ever watched a science fiction movie where you can see a strong light beam that focuses on blasting the enemy spaceships? Most of us, right. Wondering what that strong light beam is? Well, it’s nothing but a laser. Yes, these lasers are weapons which are used in different fields of advanced technology. Luckily, one such technology is a laser printer, where one can try to print in a beam of light. That sounds very cool. Absolutely, yes. Such printers use a laser beam to transfer the permanent data from a device to a sheet of paper. And, for a laser beam to function properly in the printers, do we need to replace the toner in the laser printers? Yes, but how often we need to replace? Well, we shall discuss here.

The Factors that Affect Toner in Laser Printers:

It is said that most of the budget laser printer works only by the use of toner cartridge present inside it. Thus, the more we print, the more is the toner designs that need to be printed on the predefined page. And, at the same time, if the laser printer is used infrequently, the toner may go worse and weird. Therefore, the toner must be replaced in the laser printers depending on various factors as discussed below.

Number of Pages:

Printer manufacturers set an approximate rating for the toner depending upon the pages. For example; if a toner rated to yield 1,000 pages, then it must last unless and until the given pages are to be printed. And, sometimes, the toner can even print pages more than a predefined rating. But, if the chemicals in the toner or other components in the printer get a breakdown, then the pages, needed to be yielded can be limited, unfortunately. Well, in such cases, replacing toner is essential before the toner gets breakdown or if the toner is about to exceed a predefined rating.

Design of Toner:

 The toner life may vary depending upon the pages we print. 

According to the International Organization for Standardization (IOS), some printer manufacturers calculate toner usage by printing a series of test pages. For example; the lifetime of toner can be increased probably, if the printed pages are half pages, and of double-spaced text. On the other hand, if the pages to be printed are of black backgrounds accompanied by the sparse white text, then the toner needs to be replaced before its lifetime.

Toner Life Extension:

There is a possibility to extend the life of toner if the print outs start to fade. This is done by removing the toner from toner cartridge bay and shaking the toner back and forth to redistribute the remaining toner evenly. By doing so, the printer can be able to print some additional pages.

Premature Replacement of Toner:

There arises a problem when the toner starts to display a fade message before it’s rated life and if the printer doesn’t print the pages heavily. This problem might be due to the dust in the toner that covers the sensor, resulting in the improper functioning of the printer. Also, the toner may even get clogged that prevents the printer from pulling the toner in the cartridge bay. Thus premature replacement can be overcome by involving a technician to clean the internals of a laser printer. 

Thus, it is very clear that; if the print outs are faded, and your toner is running out of rated life, do not try to replace straight away. Well, you can shake it lightly, to redistribute the remaining toner in the cartridge, or else call a technician to check for the issues. It is understood that one must try to understand the necessity of toner before using in the laser printers.