Fastest Laser Printer: Can Compatible Toner keep up with its speed?

From its particle size, formulation and fusing temperature, compatible toner has been expertly engineered and laboratory tested to replicate the physical properties of the OEM toner. Moreover, compatible toners undergo the same manufacturing processes guaranteed to deliver basically the same print quality and yield expected from the OEM toner. So how does the third party invention fare with the fastest laser printer in the market today? Can toner refill kits also be used on the cartridges of the IBM Infoprint 4100?

Yes indeed! Nonetheless, compatible toner manufacturers have since then shied away from the production of toner for the IBM speed monster. Demand for IBM Infoprint toner refill kits is not economically feasible versus the regular desktop laser printer despite the fact that the high-speed printer market has developed into a billion dollar industry with its record sales of $6.1 billion in 2005.

The new high-end laser printer model can easily print 330 pages per minute (ppm). At this rate, paperback such as Gone With the Wind by author Margaret Mitchell can be printed, cover to cover, in merely 40 seconds. A regular desktop laser printer with an effective speed of 22 ppm can finish the job in more or less an hour's time. But then again, the 330 ppm print speed does not come cheap. The basic IBM Infoprint model has a $500,000 tag price while the spearhead model comes at a million dollars. The printer's footprint is also enormous as it takes up the size of a Ford Escape SUV (sports utility vehicle), but only half as thick.

When it comes to toner consumables, the IBM 4100 is equipped with extra large toner cartridges that deliver a print capacity of 85,500 pages based on a 5% Industry standard. Users will need at least $350 to replace an empty cartridge with a brand new OEM cartridge. Users though can turn to the aftermarket for IBM compatible toner cartridges or a refurbished and refilled OEM cartridge that are retailed several notches below OEM pricing.

The fact that compatible cartridges and refurbished OEM toner cartridges for the IBM Infoprint 4100 is available reinforces the belief that indeed third party toner products can ably cope with the demands of the fastest printer in the Industry.