Cost per page: original, XL or compatible cartridges

What page yield means

The page yield is the average number of pages a cartridge prints before it runs empty. Makers measure it under fixed standards, so figures from different brands can be compared:

• ISO/IEC 24711 for inkjet cartridges, with a fixed set of test pages (ISO/IEC 24712).
• ISO/IEC 19752 for black toner.
• ISO/IEC 19798 for colour toner.

The test pages are ordinary office documents with text and a few images. If you print many photos or solid areas, you will get fewer pages than stated; short letters often give more. So the figure is not a promise, but it does make cartridges comparable.

How to work out the cost per page

Take the price of the cartridge and divide it by the page yield. If one cartridge costs twice as much as another but prints three times as many pages, it is cheaper per page. Do this for every cartridge your printer uses:

• A printer with one black and one tri-colour cartridge: add up the cost per page of both for a colour page.
• A printer with separate colours (black, cyan, magenta, yellow): add up all four.
• For text only, the black cartridge is all that counts.

The product pages show the prices from several shops; the page yield is in the cartridge's specifications.

Standard or XL

Many cartridges come in two sizes for the same printer. According to HP, the HP 305 black prints about 120 pages and the HP 305XL black about 240 pages. The HP 305 tri-colour reaches about 100 pages, the HP 305XL tri-colour about 200. Canon does the same with the PG-545 and the PG-545XL, Epson with the 603 and the 603 XL.

An XL cartridge costs more each, but you replace it less often. Whether it is also cheaper per page, you work out as above. If you print very little, keep in mind that ink in an opened cartridge can dry up over a long time.

Ink bottles and toner

Ink tank printers use bottles instead of cartridges. For one Epson 104 EcoTank ink bottle in cyan, the product data give 7,500 pages; there is also a multipack with the colours. Canon puts "low printing costs" in the name of an ink tank printer such as the MAXIFY GX1051; the printer itself usually costs more than a regular inkjet. Our guide inkjet, laser or ink tank helps you choose the printer.

Laser printers use toner. For the Brother TN-2420, the product data give 3,000 pages; for the same printers Brother also sells the TN-2410. Toner is a dry powder, so it can't dry up the way ink does; do store a cartridge as your printer's manual says.

Original or compatible

An original cartridge comes from the printer maker itself. A compatible cartridge or toner is made by another company for the same printer. Xerox, for example, makes toners for other brands' printers under the name Everyday: Xerox itself calls the Xerox 006R03648 an alternative to the HP 81A and the Xerox 006R04223 an alternative to the Brother TN242BK.

With compatible cartridges, check three things:

• Model number: the description should name the original cartridge's number, and that number should be in your printer's manual.
• Page yield: compare it with the original cartridge, ideally measured under the same ISO standard.
• Warranty: read what your printer's terms say about cartridges from other brands.

In the catalogue, cartridges show their origin (original or compatible) and their size (standard or XL). You find them all under ink cartridges and toner.