Fax Toner Tips
Read these 13 Fax Toner Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Printer Ink tips and hundreds of other topics.
Humidity and Fax Toner
Fax machines and fax toner are expensive enough. Many people do not pay enough attention to their environment when it comes to this equipment, which often results in their fax toner going bad or causing bad prints. Here is some advice on how humidity, in particular, can affect your fax toner. At any time of year, but especially in the winter, low humidity levels are common inside of many homes and offices.
Remember that fax toner is not a liquid, but a powder and low humidity can cause many different problems for fax machines that use toner. This is because static charges that are affected by the humidity level are used to control how the toner moves onto your paper. Too little humidity and the application will not take properly. To ensure a long life of clean, sharp prints from your fax machine and fax toner, be sure to increase the humidity levels in rooms where your fax machine is located.
Getting it All Out of Your Fax Toner
After many uses, you will start to notice streaks and lines in the faxes from your machine. This is a tell tale sign that you are running low on fax toner. Too many people replace the fax toner right when this begins to happen. What they don't know is that there is typically 10-15% of the fax toner left in the cartridge that has simply been shifted away from the dispensing area.
When you start to see lines in your faxes, do the following. Take your fax toner cartridge out of the machine. Gently, give the cartridge a little shake. You can even use the bottom of your hand to gently bump the edges of the cartridge. This will loosen everything up. Then, place the fax toner cartridge back in the machine. Run a test page to get the last spots and lines out. You should have many more faxes from that toner cartridge before you need to replace it.
Generic or Xerox Fax Toner Cartridge for Your Machine?
If you own a Xerox fax or copier, you are probably wondering if all of the money you spend on replacing Xerox fax toner cartridges is necessary or worth it. Well, we can tell you that you are not limited to Xerox made refills anymore. There are many other manufacturers that are now offering compatible fax toner cartridges for Xerox brand copiers and fax machines. There are benefits to using the Xerox made refills. For one, these refills are guaranteed by Xerox and should anything go wrong with your machine, you will be greeted with more help by Xerox support if you were using all of their products when the error occurred.
On the other hand, there is no question that a Xerox fax toner cartridge will be more expensive than a generic cartridge. When deciding whether to use generic or Xerox brand fax toner cartridge refills, you simply need to weigh the additional costs of the brand name against the guarantees that come with using Xerox brand supplies for your machine.
Unclogging Your Fax Ink Cartridges
If you have a fax ink cartridge that is printing poorly because it is clogged, there are many ways to fix the problem. Here is one great trick on how to get your fax ink cartridge flowing as it should once again. Take the cartridge out of the fax machine. Have running warm water around and start running the water over the cartridge. The clogged ink will loosen under the water. When you are done, use a paper towel to wipe the excess moisture off of the fax ink cartridge. Once very dry, place it back in the fax machine. Lastly, you will want to clean the cartridge using the built in process in your machine.
The menu in your unit should give you this option under a maintenance tab. After cleaned, send a test fax to make sure the job was done completely. If still clogged, repeat the process holding the cartridge under warmer water for a longer period of time. Repeat the last steps as before.
Fax Machines that use Laser Fax Toner
When you are looking for a new fax machine, you will want to decide if you want a fax machine that uses ink or laser fax toner. If cost is your largest concern, you would probably be best off going with a combination unit that uses ink. However, if long life and quality faxes are what you prefer, your best bet would be a unit that uses laser fax toner. There are many models of fax machines that use laser fax toner and are still very cost effective. Panasonic has several laser fax machines at very reasonable prices. They also produce their own laser fax toner refills, so most new units will come with at least one refill cartridge. Brother is another manufacturer that produces both laser fax machines and laser fax toner. Their models come with similar features and sometimes even better pricing.
Before you buy your new fax machine, take a look at the many different models that are available. If business is going well, you will be sending and receiving many faxes. A machine that uses laser fax toner will be the best investment for the future.
Selling Your Empty Fax Toner Cartridges
So, business is good and your fax machine won't stop running. Now, you are faced with refilling your fax toner. But, what will you do with your empty fax toner cartridge? In the past, you would either throw it away, doing unforeseen damage to the environment, or recycle it. In the past, recycling your fax toner cartridge left you with nothing but a good feeling about not throwing it away.
Today, you can get much more from companies that wish to buy your empty fax toner cartridges. Next time your fax toner cartridge goes dry and you need to get a new one, look into selling your empty cartridge. There are many websites and companies that will pay good money for these empties. Now, it isn't any huge amount, but it is enough that it will save you a good percentage on your next fax toner cartridge purchase. Think of it like a rebate of sorts. Not only will you get a few bucks in your pocket, but you will be helping the environment as well.
How Nonprofits Are Turning Toner Cartridges Into Cash
If you're getting rid of your old fax toner, take a moment to think about how you're going to dispose of it. These days, the recycling trend for old toner cartridges is growing. The big printer manufacturers are getting in on the act by offering discounts and help with recycling your empty toner cartridges. But now there's another sector on the scene capitalizing on saving the environment with empty toner cartridges.
One example is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF), one of over 12,000 nonprofits that are turning to helping the environment as a way to also help raise funds for their programs. In a “Trash for Cash” fundraising effort, the JDRF receives support through collections of empty toner cartridges, old cell phones and used laptop computers which are dropped off at designated locations in exchange for funds.
A Samsung Toner Solution Makes A Green Multi-Function Printer
If you're interested in going green, even the multi-function printer with fax capabilities can be environmentally-friendly. German-based Blue Angel, responsible for awarding environmental certification, gave the eco-friendly seal of approval early in 2007 to the Samsung CLP-300N color laser printer, the ML-3051ND mono laser printer and the SCX-5530FN multi-function printer. The eco-friendly certification from Blue Angel came after a series of tests on energy consumption, emission rate, environmentally friendly components and the implementation of recycling efforts.
In the case of the SCX-5530FN multi-function printer, you not only get a 28 page per minute printing capacity, but 6 MB of memory for faxing. The Samsung toner goes a long way towards cost effectiveness, as well as addressing environmental concerns. The Samsung toner is part of the printer's toner-save solution, allowing the consumer to save up to 40 percent on their toner use.
Technology For Avoiding Wasted Fax Toner
Unfortunately, one of the biggest wastes of fax toner is receiving junk mail through your fax machine. From unwanted mortgage rate deals to real estate deals, junk mail proliferates every business and home office with a fax machine. However, there is now a patent for technology that can screen and block out these toner wasting calls. Venali, Inc. a provider of Internet fax services, now has a patent that reportedly can weed out 100 percent of the unsolicited junk mail calls through a fax machine. Venali isn't necessarily keeping the patent entirely to themselves, either. The company is examining the possibility of licensing out their patent to outside parties in the future. Although the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is in place to stop such unwarranted calls, the number of unsolicited advertisements via fax machines is still prevalent, according to a Venali press release.
New Lexmark Printer Makes Toner Affordable For Faxing
Lexmark recently announced the release of a new line of Lexmark printer models. These multi-function printer units will range from $500 to $700 for desktop models and $5,000 to $19,000 for work group models. Although in 2007, multi-function printer models made up just 4 percent of the overall laser printer market, they do have a high capacity for printing due to their multiple toner cartridges. These Lexmark printer models will be ideal for printer companies that need to do high volume printing, as well as faxing. According to the Vice President of Lexmark Printing Solutions and Services, the cost per color print for customers who lease the models with the toner can range from 6 cents to 10 cents per sheet.
How Humidity Can Affect Your Laser Fax Toner
If you're experiencing difficulty with your printouts or laser fax toner during the wintertime, it could be the weather that's the culprit. During the winter season, it's common for offices to have low humidity indoors. Humidity can affect the performance of your laser fax toner and associated equipment because of the static charges necessary for the toner to adhere to the drum and paper during the printing process. If you're having difficulty with your equipment, try increasing the humidity within a single room that houses your laser fax toner, printers, and related office equipment. Increasing the humidity should give you cleaner, sharper printouts.
How The Laser Fax Toner Works
A laser fax machine is a finely calibrated piece of equipment that prints images with the use of laser fax toner. If you've ever wondered how laser fax toner creates printouts, here's how the laser fax machine works.
- The inside of a laser fax machine contains a drum, toner, laser unit, paper tray and rollers.
- The laser beam directs its light onto the drum and attracts laser fax toner particles to the drum surface.
- The paper passes through the drum and attracts the toner away from the drum surface.
- The laser fax toner affixes to the paper in the form of text and or images.
- As the paper and laser fax toner passes through the rollers, the heat and pressure create a permanent bond which becomes your printout.
How Brother Fax Toner Works
Like all major printer manufacturers, Brother touts their own toner as superior to that of third parties. Here's the scoop on what this printer manufacturer has to say about their Brother fax toner.
- Brother fax toner is specifically formulated to deliver quality print resolution and images that work specifically with their equipment. Factors like the size of the toner particle, the shape of the toner particle and the color of the pigmentation affect the quality of the final print.
- The Brother fax toner has a balanced formula that provides a smooth flow and even distribution onto the paper. Binders within the Brother fax toner keep it together and give it the hold it needs for printouts.
- Brother fax toner has a temperature-specific formula. Toner needs to heat to a specific temperature so that it can melt and adhere properly to paper.
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