How to Assess Toner Quality

Printer toner is a powder-based print medium made from granulated plastics. To some extent, the quality of toner determines the print quality: whether the print is clear, whether the color is accurate, etc. There are six key factors that you can use to assess toner quality. What are they then? Read on to know the answer:

I) Blackness

Laser printers typically have a blackness value of around 1.45. Some people might believe that the print quality is greater if it is darker. However, there are situations when additional elements, like toner adhesion, can make the blackness value appear high (toner with poor adhesion only adheres to the surface of the paper). Greater blackness values are therefore not better because they will result in a lower actual page yield (as the total amount of toner and the average coverage won't improve), which will increase the cost.

II) Bottom Ash

The bottom ash refers to the misty toner that appeared on the blank area of the printout. Generally, the bottom ash value of toner is about 0.05-0.06. When the value is higher than 0.06, you could notice that the printouts appear a bit dirty. Toner with strong conductivity and fine particles is more likely to produce prints with a gray background.

III) Color Level

When printing, a high-quality toner cartridge will make it easy to distinguish between different color shades. Therefore, you can compare the shade of the same hue to determine whether a toner cartridge is eligible.

IV) Resolution

High resolution is a result of fine toner particles. Rough particles can't display details, so the printouts will be blurry when you need to print intricate images. As a result, you can assess the toner's resolution by checking the edges of characters or images.

V) Consumption

Everybody wants their cartridge to last as long as possible. If you get a high-quality cartridge, 3 to 4 grams of toner will be used every 100 pages at 5% page coverage. The consumption, on the other hand, will be between 5 and 6 grams if the cartridge is substandard. Although a high-quality toner cartridge costs more, it will save you money in the long term and be better for your printer.

VI) Adhesion

Adhesion refers to the toner's capacity to enter the paper fibers. If the adhesion is poor, when we touch the surface of the printouts, the images or characters will blur.