Printers use ink, toners cartridges, or ink cartridges. All these need to be replaced when they get depleted. Yield page refers to the estimated number of pages it can print before getting exhausted. Once exhausted, you will need a replacement to keep printing.
This article takes you through all you need to know about yield page. We cover those aspects, such as determining the yield page and why it is important to calculate. We also review some factors affecting yield page. In the end, we give actionable tips for extending the cartridge life.
Paper Coverage Used to Calculate the Yield Page
Calculating the yield page requires a reference to the ISO. ISO stands for International Organization of Standardization. This is an internationally recognized body that sets various standards. It sets standards ranging from industrial to proprietary to commercial.
ISO defines a page as 5% of an A4 paper. When you have texts covering 50% of a page, it equals ten pages.
yield page is not always indicated in the ink or toner cartridge. You may find it somewhere in the product manual. Sometimes, you might have to check on the manufacturer’s website.
You might still wonder, how much exactly is 5% of the page?
When you are printing text, 5% will cover approximately six lines. When you print an image, 5% will occupy even less space. This is because printing images take up more toner or ink.
Why Is It Important to Know the Yield Page?
Knowing the yield page of your toner is important in many senses. When you know the yield page, you will be able to calculate the cost per page. Cost per page is simply the amount it costs you to print one page.
Knowing the cost per page is important for pricing your work. It also helps you determine if the toner cartridge is worth buying.
Before buying a printer, you need to know the toner it uses. When you calculate the cost per page, you will know if it’s a good fit for you.
For instance, there are laser printers that use toner cartridges without a drum. The printer has a slot for the drum, which can be used for longer periods. All you have to replace is a toner cartridge that only has the toner inside. These toner cartridges are cheaper and have a lower cost per page.
When you buy a toner, you will find that a yield page is indicated. Many people take the yield page as a full page of an A4. When the toner gets exhausted, they get frustrated. They claim that manufacturers lied to them. That is another reason why you need a better understanding of the yield page.
Standard or High Yield: Which Cartridge is Right for You
High-yield cartridges are those that print a lot of pages. Standard gives a fairly good yield. The kind to buy depends on the volumes you print.
If you use toner cartridges, toner might dry up if you do not print regularly. If you are in business or have a busy office, you can buy a high-yield toner cartridge. This would be economical for you. Also, it would offer longer periods of uninterrupted printing. But if you have a home-use printer, it would be better to buy a standard yield toner cartridge.
It is not so different from laser printing. You will save more using a high-yield toner cartridge if you regularly print. The standard yield will be enough for you if you print less regularly.
Factors Affecting the Toner Yield Page
Several factors affect the yield page. When you buy a new toner cartridge, it doesn’t guarantee the exact yield page indicated. The yield indicated is largely an approximate number. The actual number to be printed will depend on the following factors:
1.Design of the Page to be Printed
When the file to be printed fits a whole page, it will use more toner. Also, when the design has more images, you will need more toner to print.
Similarly, a toner will print more pages when the design fits a small section of the page. That is not always the issue, though. There are times when printing demands more printing rotations. This can happen even when the design occupies a small fraction of the paper. When the drum rotates many times, more toner will be released. Once the toner is released, the excess will not be returned. Instead, it will be diverted to a waste bottle. At the end of the day, you will use up more toner even if not used for printing. This decreases the cartridge life.
2.Stopping and Starting Printing
Initiating and stopping the printing process depletes the toner. In other words, when you print single pages one after another, you will use up more toner. What you could do instead is to put the pages in one file. Sending as one solid print job would save more toner. That way, you will increase the cartridge life. It may not be possible to combine two PDFs, which is understandable. Just when possible, try putting your documents together before printing.
3.Environmental Conditions
Environmental conditions also affect the number of pages you can print.
Extreme humidity and surrounding temperatures can make your toner to clump. When the toner clump, you will need more of it to print. This means printing in extreme temperatures would cost you more toner. For better toner performance, always keep your surrounding conditions checked.
4.The Kind of Printing: Two-sided or one-sided
Printers can be commanded to print both sides of a page. We call it duplex printing. This kind of printing may reduce the cartridge life. In duplex printing, cartridge parts still rotate when the paper is turning. This may cause wear and tear of the parts. It could even cause toner wastage.
This point is hard to solve. You may save the toner cartridge and waste your papers if you print one side. You can decide based on your needs.
Tips to Extending the Life of a Cartridge
While printing drafts of documents, use the draft mode. This would print in faint and use less toner. Also, when necessary, avoid using bold lines. Bold lines use more toner.
Use small images, or remove them when not necessary. Images and photos use more toner than text. You can use them when you absolutely have to print.
Use color only when necessary. Color toners are more expensive. When the color of the print is unnecessary, you can print in black. Also, when the titles are colored, you can ignore them and print in black. This would save your colored cartridges.
There are options to use less toner. When the quality is not important, you can command the printer to use less toner. That way, you can use your toner for extended periods.
Conclusion
Printing could get pretty expensive. It becomes even worse if you do not understand yield page and how to enhance it.
Understanding yield page and choosing good toners can help you save more on printing. Another thing that will help cut printing costs is using compatible cartridges. They are less expensive and work well. We manufacture and sell them in bulk. If you need them, you can always talk to us.