Laser Printers

[Sue]

I have two HP color laser printers. I print in black about 80% of the time. I find it very ironic that when the black cartridge is empty, so are the others. How can that be?

It is impossible that I used the same amount contained in all the ink cartridges, that they were empty at exctly the same time.

I have a color inkjet printer and replace the black 2-3 times before the color.

Is it possible that they are somehow programmed like that?

My primary recently ate an entire page of labels so switched to the secondary while it is being worked on. The second printer ran out of all ink (black & color) at the same time.

This seems to be a scam with the laser printers or maybe just the brand I have? The ink cartridges cost about the same as a new printer on sale. Has anyone else had this happen?
Sue

[kongjie]

Sue,

I'm not positive since I don't know your model, but I know that for some of the HP laser cartridges the black cartridge life is much more than the color.

For example, for the 3000 series it is 6,500 pages for black, 3,500 for color.

This could be part of the explanation.

[biomesh]

I have the 2605dn and mine don't need replacement at the same time. I suggest you create two printers in windows (or your operating system of choice) for each printer. One printer has the color settings to off (Black toner only) and the other allows color printing.

Many times the printer drivers or settings will use the colored toners to simulate black when it is low or out. Many documents will print out using color even when you really only want black toner. This setup makes it much easier and you don't have to change your printer settings all of the time.

[homebrewer]

Some laser printers, (HP and samsung seem to be notorious for this) will report that the black and color toners need to be replaced at the same time, regardless of if the color is empty or not. Many are even programed not to try and print if the toner is reported as being low in either category.

Check out various places online, (ie newegg, amazon, tigerdirect, etc) to find toner. It is generall much cheaper there than in the store, although still expensive compared to traditional ink cartridges. At least toner lasts for a long time, and in the long run ends up being cheaper....