How long does laser printer ink typically last? -

Could somebody give me an estimate on this? I m a student and don t print much everyday, just when I need to print stuff for school. Also, would going to a laser printer be the right way for my needs?

Laser printing has several advantages over ink-jet printing, the biggest one being cost per page. While laser printers are notoriously much more expensive than their ink-jet brethren, they also yield about twice the page output per dollar. I have a Brother HL-2040 series laser printer that I picked up for 100 bucks at Staples. The toner cartridge can last for about 5000 pages, at a price of 60 bucks. So that means I get 5000 pages per 160 dollars initially. Not bad compared to paying 30 bucks a cartridge for ink-jet and only yielding about 500 pages. Thing is, if you bought a laser printer that came with toner, you re not getting a full set of toner. What you get instead is something known as a starter set. In my case, the starter toner that came with my printer yields about 1500 pages. Still not bad, considering I got all that for $100. If your laser printer is new and it came with toner, it will certainly yield less than if you went out and bought a new toner cartridge for it today. Either way, you ll make out in the end if you go with a laser printer because (a) it s much faster, (b) it s more cost effective (I m a student, too) and (c) the toner is heat bonded. Heat bonded means that if the paper gets moist, the ink won t run - like it would if you used ink-jet. I really enjoy this feature because, on a wet and rainy day, I d hate to hand in a lab report or research paper that looked like crap. Laser looks much nicer. My advice: get the laser. You ll be happier in the end.

Usually between 2 to 3 years, depending on the usuage.

well, my moms office has two and they usuallly run out in 4-5 months but we print ALOT of stuff. like over 200-300pgs a day.