The best places to buy toner for your printer

So your top of the range all-inclusive printer has been running fine and living up to its marketing hype, but recently you’ve started to notice a drop in the quality of output it’s giving you. If it really is a top-end printer, then there will probably be a function to tell you exactly what’s wrong with it, but most printers leave you guessing until, finally, you realise that it simply needs more ink. Often called toner, these cartridges are the life-blood of your printer and can often be needlessly inconvenient and expensive to replace. If you use your printer a lot, or work in an office where it is the main printer, then you undoubtedly have to find a reliable source of good value toner, as costs can quickly creep up otherwise.



The most obvious place to buy toner, especially if your office is located in town, is a trusted, branded office supplies store. Often electrical supply stores stock a good range of toner too, so browse a couple of these (with the empty cartridge if necessary as a reference) until you find the best price for what you’re after. The benefit of large, trusted stores like this is that they tend to only sell good quality, high-end goods, so you know that you’re not buying a cheap, inferior product. Also, they often have such faith in their products that they offer a money-back guarantee if you’re not happy, so you don’t need to worry about your new toner not living up to its name. Of course, at stores like this you will always be paying a little more than you would elsewhere, as their overheads tend to cover prime locations and specialist staff. Plus if your printer is an older or particularly uncommon model, then you will need to find a more specialist store to buy toner from.

One solution is to contact the toner brand you use directly and find out if they have a local vendor that you could purchase from directly. This is often the best way (as vendor’s regularly visit their largest customers at their premises to make sure their toner needs are being met). Even if you only use a comparatively small amount of ink, don’t be afraid to contact them, as they will no doubt be useful in helping you track down the lowest-cost ink available.



If this doesn’t work (and likewise the printer manufacturer hasn’t been able to recommend a suitable nearby stockist), then take your search online. Like everything else, toner can be bought online for a much reduced amount. Do a basic search for what you are after and, if delivery is a big consideration, then perhaps filter your search to just your country or local area. Online retailers often meet such low prices by cutting any perks that you would normally expect from a High Street retailer. Double check any small print before hitting ‘confirm’ though, as often refunds are not possible, or, worse still, the toner is so cheap as it is actually out of date and therefore surplus stock from the manufacturer.