Your printer is hungry! What should you feed it when it's feeling empty? Our Ultimate Printer Cartridge (Toner & Ink) Buying Guide will show you!

What Is the Difference Between Ink-Jet and Laser Printers?

Inkjet printers use liquid ink to print images, while laser printers use dry toner. Ink cartridges for printers are usually small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, while toner cartridges are much larger, about the same width as your printer.

If your printer does not state on the outside if it is an inkjet or a laser printer, you can open the access panel and check out the cartridges inside.

Small cartridges filled with liquid are ink; you have an inkjet printer. You have a laser printer if your cartridges are long, thin, and rectangular.

How Do You Know When To Change the Ink or Toner?

Your printers will let you know, usually in the form of a “low ink” or “low toner” warning message on the printer itself.

In addition, you may start to notice your prints getting faint or blotchy. This is another sign your printer needs a new cartridge.

How Do I Know Which Printer Cartridge I Need?

There are several ways to determine which cartridge your printer uses.

First of all, check your printer’s user manual. The type of cartridges your printer needs will be listed there.

Secondly, you can pop the empty cartridge out of your printer and check the information printed on the cartridge itself. The cartridge type and model number will be listed there.

In addition, you can always look up your printer model on the manufacturer’s website to determine what kind of cartridge your printer takes.

Does Printer Ink Dry Out? How Long Does Printer Ink Last?

Printer ink cartridges do have an expiration date listed on them. After the expiration date has passed, the ink starts to break down, and the quality of your prints may suffer.

Ink cartridges also dry out over time. This is especially true if you have an inkjet but don’t print very frequently.

The ink inside the cartridges will dry out over time, and the cartridges will need to be replaced.

Want to get more out of your ink and toner cartridges? Keep your printer and your cartridges clean and properly stored! Inkjet owners — clean those printer heads!

How To Choose a Toner Cartridge

You do not choose a toner cartridge; it chooses you.

Not really. Choosing the correct toner cartridge depends on knowing what kind of cartridge your printer uses. There are a few ways to accomplish this.

Take out the old empty cartridge. What is the model or product number listed there?

Dig out your printer manual and determine what kind of cartridge you should use.

Use an online tool to determine what kind of cartridge your printer needs.

How To Check Ink or Toner Levels

There are usually two ways to check your printer's ink and toner levels.

Through your printer’s front control panel.

Through diagnostic software accessed via a connected computer.

To check your ink levels through your printer’s front control panel, locate and click on Settings, which are often represented by a gear icon.

Settings may be found under your printer's preferences. There should be diagnostic tools to check ink or toner levels, clean and align print heads, and other printer maintenance tasks.

Select “check ink/toner levels” to see how much ink you have left in your printer cartridges.

To check your ink or toner levels through diagnostic software access via a connected computer, open the control panel on your computer and select Printers and Scanners.

If your printer is connected to the computer via a USB cable or a wireless network, it should appear in your list of available printers.

Select the printer you are interested in, and click “check supply levels” to see how much ink or toner remains in your printer cartridges.

（Quote from TonerBuzz）