How many pages can my printer print?

How many pages would a laser printer print before changing the ink.?

• Hi. I am a university student, and I need a printer, I was told that a laser one would be my best bet. I want to be able to not change the ink for a long time. I dont want to have to worry about it. So, would a laser be the best, and how many pages would you say I should be able to print off. (Essay pages, not pictures). Also, how much would it cost per ink change. If laser isn't the best, please tell me what I should try. Thank you so much!

• Answer:

  A laser would definitely be your best option. It will provide good quality prints over the life of the toner cartridge, it will not dry out like inkjet can. Inkjets need to print every few days or so to keep the ink fresh or they will clog up, which will cost more over the long run if you can't get the ink cartridges to work right again and have to buy new ones, whereas laser printers can go weeks or months without printing and still print when you need them to. As far as how long a toner cartridge will last, that is extremely variable and depends on the model of printer you have (different printers will have different capacity toner cartridges available), how much toner coverage per page you print (ratings are usually based on a 5% coverage), so if you have a lot of text per page it won't last as long as a standard 5% coverage would yield, and it depends on the font style you use (different fonts will use different amounts of ink/toner) and if you use bold, underlines, etc. along with the text. You'd also have to compare the model of printers that you may get in regards to their cost of replacement toner cartridges, how many pages their particular cartridges are rated for, etc... Some printers can accept high capacity toner cartridges which are a little cheaper per page, but cost more as a cartridge. Depending on the printer and toner cartridge, the number of printable pages per cartridge can range from around 2,000 to 7,500 pages. So, unfortunately, there's a fair amount of research thay you'd need to do to compare all the variables for the printers that you're interested in as there is no one set answer to give you. Inkjet printers tend to have a lot of problems overall compared to laser printers. There are more question and problems seen here on Answers with inkjets than lasers. Most laser questions are about connection and drivers, whereas inkjets are about missing print or poor print quality (bad ink cartridges & printheads normally), jams, broken internal parts, etc.... Overall a laser is much more reliable & consistent.