# Laser Printers, Drums & Toner Cartridges?



## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

I am seriously considering a Dell 1710 black laser printer to supplement my Dell 944 All-in-one.

If you buy direct from Dell you get a drum, 3K page toner cartridge, but no USB cable. Also warranty and technical support. Free printer shipping for now, but I do have to pay TN state sales taxes so offset there.

If you buy off eBay you can get a new printer with USB cable, but have to buy a drum and toner cartridge separately. When you total those up with shipping about the same as Dell's price.

OK, now to question: How long will a drum typically last in pages? How can you tell when the drum needs to be replaced?

Babe in the woods here.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

A drum will usually need to be replace every after using 3-4 toner cartridges completely. A laser beam produces an image on the drum of the printer which corresponds to an electrical charge for the area. When the drum passes through the toner , the toner particles are attracted to the area with the charge. These toner particles are then transferred to a paper and then the fuser rollers apply heat and pressure to make the image permanent.

An easy way to know when your drum is full is to look for darkening of the print as well as black lines and blemishes on the printed page.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Do I have the basic concept correct? Toner is a bit like ink coated 'medium'. When it is processed the ink goes on the paper but the 'medium' goes into the drum. Drum doesn't wear out, per se, but just becomes full of spent toner.

Next question? How do you dispose of a full drum?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Ken Scharabok said:


> Do I have the basic concept correct? Toner is a bit like ink coated 'medium'. When it is processed the ink goes on the paper but the 'medium' goes into the drum. Drum doesn't wear out, per se, but just becomes full of spent toner.


Here is a good description of how laser printers work. The drum description is on the next page.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/laser-printer1.htm

Drums are fragile. You should not expose the drum to direct sunlight. The drum also is susceptible to physical damage because of a variety of causes. HermitJohn is correct, the drum will only last for a few toner refills under the best of circumstances.

I solved the drum problem by purchasing an HP Laserjet 1000 series printer (the 1200 series uses the same toner cartridges). The drum is included as part of the toner cartridge. The cartridge prints about 3500 sheets and costs about $60-80, but I find them rebuilt on eBay for about $27 delivered.

Since both the 1000 & 1200 series HP Laserjets are discontinued models, they are inexpensive at eBay. I got mine for about $50, and it came with a good toner cartridge.


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## 14yearpcmaker (Mar 11, 2007)

Why are you wanting a laser printer? Just wondering....


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

There are varying reasons. I do the newsletter for my church - that's 50 sheets a week. I could pay $15/week to get them printed.....or just print them out on my laser printer.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I started with a laser printer because I was printing check drafts which required MICR toner. You can't print with magnetic ink if you use an inkjet.

After that, I had the same motivation as Kung; I was self-publishing a book and laser toner costs a lot less than inkjet ink.


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Yeah, I figure ink jet is about $.04 a page while laser would run $.01-.02 per page. I 6K toner cartridge should last me about a year.

In a previous thread on printers HJ noted the print quality is heads and shoulders above ink jet. While I can refill my my ink jet cartridge several times quality does go down with refill.

Problem is more where the heck as I'm going to put it.


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## john#4 (Mar 10, 2003)

I have a Samsung ML-1610 I believe the drum is right on the cartridge.
I paid $80.00 for it new with cartridge. Replacement cartridge $45.00
John#4


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Few thoughts :

- price of a USB cable is next to nothing - if you look around, a 6' cable is about $2 - i.e. don't let the fact that a printer comes with/without the cable influence your purchase decisions

- research the cost of the toner cartridges - some laser printers have only a 2.5k toner cartridge available

- lasers (like inkjets) come with "starter" cartridges - half full, 1/3 full, etc.

- printer manufacturers are making money on consumables, not the printers themselves

- watch out for companies changing their printer designs every 6 months - they limit production in hopes that third party manufacturers will not bother producing toner cartridges for the printer

- in many cases, third party toner cartridges work just as well as the manufacturers cartridges, and may be substantially cheaper

- some of the older HP laserjets are great values - well built and toner cartridges are dirt cheap


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## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Thank you to all for above advice. Still haven't made a decision to purchase one, but certainly strongly leaning that way.


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