How Long Will a Laser Printer, Copier Toner Cartridges Last?

HP, Lexmark, Sharp, Ricoh, Savin, Brother and other manufactures of laser printers and copiers' office equipment all use the same industry standard of how long a toner cartridge will last.  They use the 5% rule.  However, most people print 7%to 12% on the average.

First, we need to define what is the 5% rule toner cartridge usage on your laser printer, digital copier all in one machine.  When HP toner cartridge specifications says 10,000 pages at 5% it means 10,000 pages of text DOUBLE space on a 8.5" by 11" with 1.25" margins (see below for actual sample of 5% text n page).  If you just send simple memos on your laser printer copier then you are set.  However, most companies especially accountant and lawyers use way more toner per page than 5%.  Here is a 5% (between the dotted lines page of toner on HP laser printer, Sharp copier, Canon printer copier or other brand of office equipment:

Start with this, which is 5% page coverage for a hp printer or digital copier.  You will notice its only two paragraphs long.  If this is all you print on the average then the estimated pages per toner cartridge the manufacture specifies will be close.  However, you will notice there are no graphics, company logos or anything else.  If you print graphs or tax returns your rate of usage will be much higher.

If you are using a color laser printer copier, then you need to be careful; because if the color toner cartridges on your laser printer or digital copier says 5,000 pages then it is not 5,000 each color toner cartridge but a COMBINED total of the cyan, magenta and yellow.  This end of 5% coverage example of text a standard sheet of paper printed on your laser printer, color copier or all in one copier printer scanner device - end of 5 %.

If you are not sure how to get your average page toner cartridge usage, contact us now, to get the information needed to determine your Hp printer all in one, Canon copier printer, Sharp copier, Rich copier scanner or other brand of printing device.  It does not cost you a cent, the information is 100% free for the asking.

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Canon Laser Printer: A Review of the Canon D340 Digital Copier Laser Printer

A printer which is designed either for personal, professional, or business use must have excellent quality printing abilities, and a Canon laser printer is my best bet for that.  Specifically as a copier and printer, the Canon D340 Digital Copier Laser Printer is one of the best models that I have ever used.  Let me enlighten you through this review that I have written for that exact purpose.

Design

This model is a nice conventional white printer with buttons which are very easy to use and a small LCD display for essential information.  It looks like any common laser printer and copier, but it's compact enough to be easily set in a room, table, or desk.  The dimensions of the machine are 18'' x 21.4''' x 17.8'' and it has a weight of 35.2 pounds.  It's very bulky and it's not advisable to be used as a portable machine.  It should be settled in a single location which is most convenient for your use.

The LCD display is very small and is only meant for showing important data.  The buttons are intuitive, simple, and very easy to use.  It is not designed for network use so you can only access it through one PC.  The device also has a lot more functions that can definitely help you speed up your work and make better output for an even more productive work pace.

Printing and Other Functions

The device is a printer and a copier in one, so compared to other Canon laser printers, this is much more functional.  The printer can produce output in as fast as 14 seconds per minute, not as speedy as other models but certainly fast enough.  It has a high resolution for enhanced output of up to 1200x600 dpi. The printer also has a toner saver mode which allows you to use less toner for lesser costs.

The copier is the prized feature of this device.  It has a very intelligent copying system which lest you scan once and copy many, so you won't have to keep on scanning a single document to produce multiples copies.  The copy speed is the same as printing, as well as the quality so your copies are just like or even better than the original one.  You can produce 99 copies of a single document in one setting. You can also reduce and enlarge your documents from 5% to 400% and every whole number in between with the zoom feature.  It can automatically collate copies of documents according to the page, so if you're reproducing multiple pages of multiple copies, you won't have to sort every one of them individually.  The 2 on 1 function allows you to print two documents in a single paper so that you can save more paper and help the environment.

Other Features

The 250-sheet tray makes printing multiple pages a lot easier because you don't have to keep on refilling the paper tray.  The automatic document feeder input of the copier makes copying more accessible and less hassling to use, especially if you only need a few copies.  The product is also Energy Star qualified so for environmentalists and nature-lovers, this is a very friendly and safe device.

Conclusion

I don't think anyone would be disappointed in this Canon laser printer.  I have used it for a long while and so far, I have been completely satisfied with its performance.  The Canon D340 Digital Copier Laser Printer is a very remarkable machine and I highly recommend it to all those people who desire to have an excellent laser printer and copier, for whatever purpose it may serve.

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Purchasing a Copier Vs Leasing a Copier - Pros and Cons

Today I am addressing the pros and cons of purchasing a copier vs. leasing a copier for your workplace.  I was recently asked this question for the 5,000,000th time and I decided to answer the question publicly.

There are advantages and disadvantages to either acquisition process.  The answer to several variables will help steer you in the right direction to see whether purchasing or leasing a printer is right for your office.  Whichever option you decide on, you can still have your machine on a recommended maintenance and toner contract.  Most current day machines come standard with all of the functions you need; copying, printing, and scanning.  The fax is an additional option.

Leasing an All-In-One Copier/Printer/Scanner:

Pros

No acquisition cost

Cheap monthly cost

Rotated new equipment

Cons

No ownership

Extended obligation

Purchasing an All-In-One Copier/Printer/Scanner:

Pros

Instant ownership

No extended obligation

Cons

High initial investment costs

Potential for out-dated non functioning equipment

Technology quickly becomes obsolete

Ask yourself these three questions:

1.) How long has our company been in business?

The credit approval process can be very sensitive to new businesses.  Without 3 or more years in business the lease application will probably require a personal guaranty from the owner of the company.  With that being said, it may make more sense to purchase a refurbished printer at a low cost, then lease a more robust, new printer down the road once the company has more established credit and higher printing volume.

2.) How much do we print?

Printers these days are designed to last!  If you don't have a high volume of printing you'll probably get more bang for your buck purchasing an MFP outright.  Most lease terms are 3 or 4 years.  If you aren't pounding your printer all day every day, then you should get a lot more than 3 or 4 years out of it.  On the other hand, if you hammer your office equipment, it makes more sense to lease a machine so you'll get a new one at the end of the lease term and not have to worry about what to do with a broken down machine 8 years down the road.  A headache is the last thing you need with office equipment, you have a lot of other things to worry about.

3.) How much are we willing to spend out of pocket for a printer?

Large MFPs can are expensive.  Leasing them is a great option for an office without a large budget.  Most workplaces would function seamlessly with an MFP for around $200 a month, which would cost you nearly $7,000 cash.  You could lease a machine that's out of your budget that will handle a larger workload than a system that was purchased outright.

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Troubleshooting Your Non-Printing Printer - Five Things to Check

Has your printer stopped printing?  This always seems to happen as you try to print the boarding pass for your Caribbean cruise.  Please try these five checks first before you kill your printer.

Several things can fix printing.  Some are easy simple checks and others are more complicated.  This article presents the five things you can do to repair printing.  After that, you are free to get a hammer, take out your frustration on your device, and buy a new cheaper one.  We begin here first, with the simple easy checks and then progress to the more complex issues to resolve.

Check 1: Printing devices must be powered-on to print.  Please make sure that the power is turned on and that the power-on light is lighted.  At this time it is best to make sure that all cables are plugged into the device and that there are no error light indicators on.   A quick check of the paper tray and paper hopper is in order as well.  These should have a sufficient supply of fresh paper in them.

Check 2: Please make sure that you are using the printer you are expecting.  To verify this when using Microsoft® Word, please click on the upper left menu item "File" and then "Print" from the drop down menu.  This reveals the printing panel to the right of the drop-down menu.  In the printing panel on the upper left is the print button.  Immediately below that, the printer is identified.  If the name of this device is not the printer you are expecting to use, there is a triangle pointing down on the right-hand side.  Clicking on this triangle reveals a drop-down list of printers to which your computer can send the document for printing.  Please make sure you have selected the printer that you expect.  There are similar selections other computer programs that permit you to verify and to select the printer you wish to use.

You can print on a different printer as a test.   When the document prints on the other printer, your printer has the problem.   This helps you identify precisely where the problem is, either hardware or software components.

Check 3: Please verify that the documents waiting to print are not stopped and held up in the print queue.  When a printer encounters any problem printing a document, it just stops printing.   Any document that is subsequently sent to the printer cannot be printed until the previous document is completely printed.

Printers print one document at a time.  This is similar to cows crossing a stream.  If the first cow comes to the stream and does not cross, all remaining cows wait in line to cross the stream behind the first cow.  If the first cow does cross the stream, the other cows follow.  When one of the other cows refuses to cross the stream, the cows following it stop and do not cross the stream.

Similarly, printers print all documents in the order that they are sent to the printer.  If the ink runs out, if there is a paper the error, or if there is some other malfunction that stops a document from printing, that document and all remaining documents will stop printing.  After the error is corrected, the document may or may not automatically start printing.  Sometimes you must restart the document printing for that document and subsequent documents to print.

The printer document waiting line on Windows 7® is found by clicking on the "Start" button and opening "Devices and Printers".  In the "Devices and Printers" window you select the printer you are using. Clicking the right mouse button opens a pop-up menu from which you select "See what's printing". This opens the printer queue.  If there are no documents listed, then Windows® believes that all documents have been sent to the printer and printed.

Sometimes a printer is set to work offline. In this event nothing can print because the device is offline. When a printer icon is colored light gray, the printer is likely set offline.  In the "See what's printing" window, clicking on the "Printer" menu item produces a drop down menu.  The "Use Printer Offline" selection appears about three lines from the bottom of this menu.  Since Windows 7® is context sensitive and displays only the possible menu selections appropriate, the "Use Printer Offline" menu selection is often not visible.  To place the device online, please un-check the "Use Printer Offline" menu item.

Check 4: Many printing problems are caused by the loss of connection between the computer and the printer.  To check the printer connection on Windows 7® you again click on the "Start" button and open "Devices and Printers".  In the devices and printers window you select the printer you are using, click the right mouse button to open a pop-up menu, and you select "Printer properties".  The printer properties window should open on the "General" tab.  In the lower right should be the "Print Test Page" button. Clicking on this button is a quick way to test whether the computer is connected to the printer.  It should immediately print a test page on the printer.  If it does not print a test page, then the link to the printer may not be functioning properly.

To verify the computer's connection to the printer you select the "Ports" tab.  The "Ports" tab identifies the port that connects the computer to the printer.  When the printer is connected by a USB cable to the computer, the port label identifies a USB port.  Sometimes unplugging a USB cable and plugging it into a different USB port re-establishes the connection between the computer and the printer.

Driver programs connecting Windows to the printer port may not be functioning properly with Windows.  In this case reinstalling the latest printer driver programs can resolve this issue.  The driver programs must typically match exactly the version of Windows on the computer.  Often separate driver programs are used for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows®.  The latest driver programs are found at the printer manufacturer's website.

If the printer is a network printer, a standard TCP/IP port is checked.  A TCP/IP port connection can be broken when the incorrect printer IP address is used.  To reconnect the printer to the computer, make sure that the IP address on the computer is the same as the IP address assigned to the printer.  When the printer is a wireless printer, verifying the connection becomes more difficult.  Similar to any other network connected printer, a wireless printer must have the IP address match the address used by the TCP/IP port on the computer.

Sometimes the printer may be identified by name and not by IP address.  If the name is correct, a test page should print on the printer.  When a test page does not print, the most direct resolution of the problem may be re-installation of the printer.  This would require the original printer installation CDs or a download of the installation software from the printer manufacturer's website.

Check 5: Wireless printers often lose their connections to the network.  This can be verified by going to the printer and selecting from the printer menus a print out of the network configuration.  An alternate test is to use a different computer to print a test page to the wireless printer.

When a wireless printer has lost its connection to the network, the simplest and most direct solution may be to reinstall the wireless printer on the network.  This again would require an installation CD or a download of the installation software from the manufacturer's website.  Wireless printer installation differs from manufacturer to manufacturer.  Some printers require an active USB connection into the printer to complete wireless network installation.  Other printers can be installed without such a USB connection.  Wireless installation requires knowing the network key or password.  Sometimes the latest Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security must be used for the printer to connect into the wireless network.  The older Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) does not permit some printers to connect to the network properly.

Performing these five checks should at the very least identify where the problem lies.  You should be able to then zero-in on the root of the problem.

If a printing problem is caused by physical damage, it is sometimes, but not all times, not cost-effective to repair the printer.  In this case it is best to get out a big hammer and take out all your pent-up frustration on the device.  Next go to the store and buy a newer, faster, and better one.

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