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Photocopier Toner Costs: Yields & Cost Per Page 2026

Illustration of an office photocopier with the heading Photocopier Toner Costs: Yields & Cost Per Page

Toner is one of those costs that either doesn't exist or matters enormously, depending on how you got your copier. If you lease on a standard service contract, toner is usually included in your click charge and you may never see a bill for it. If you bought your machine, or you run desktop printers, toner can quietly become one of your bigger office expenses.

This guide explains how to work out what toner really costs, how yields work, how the main brands handle supplies, and when you shouldn't be paying for toner at all.

How brands supply toner

Here's the honest position: toner prices for office copiers vary too much, and change too often, for a single price list to be useful. The same cartridge can cost very different amounts from the manufacturer, a dealer, an online reseller and a compatible supplier, and prices move through the year. Any table of "typical toner prices" would be out of date before you used it.

So instead of prices you can't rely on, here's how each main brand handles toner, and what to check.

Brand How toner is usually supplied on contract What to check if you buy it yourself
Canon Included in click charge on most service contracts; machines can report low toner automatically Exact cartridge code for your model; ISO yield; whether drum is separate
Ricoh Included in click charge on most service contracts, including Ricoh's direct contracts Cartridge code; ISO yield; whether you're on a service plan that already includes it
Xerox Included in click charge on most service contracts; Xerox runs a cartridge collection programme for recycling Cartridge code; ISO yield; high capacity options
Sharp Included in click charge on dealer contracts Cartridge code; ISO yield; dealer supply terms
Toshiba Included in click charge on dealer contracts Cartridge code; ISO yield; dealer supply terms
Kyocera Included in click charge on most contracts; long life drums mean fewer parts Toner kit code; ISO yield
Konica Minolta Included in click charge on most contracts Toner code; ISO yield; whether imaging units are separate

The key point: on a typical lease with a service contract, toner should already be in your click charge. Digital Office's published guide lists toner and consumables as the first item a cost per page rate should cover (checked October 2026). If you're paying for toner separately on a leased machine, check your contract carefully.

For our brand guides, see Canon, Ricoh, Xerox, Sharp and Toshiba.

Yields

A toner's yield is how many pages it should print before it runs out. It's the number that turns a cartridge price into a cost per page.

Yields are measured using international standards, so you can compare cartridges fairly:

  • ISO/IEC 19752 is the standard for mono toner yield
  • ISO/IEC 19798 is the standard for colour toner yield

Both use a standard test page and test method, so a yield quoted "to ISO/IEC 19752" on one brand can be compared with another quoted the same way. If a yield doesn't mention a standard, treat it with caution.

Working out cost per page

cost per page = cartridge price ÷ ISO yield

For a colour page, add the cost per page of each colour cartridge (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), because a full colour page uses all four.

Here's an illustration with made up numbers, not real prices:

Cartridge Price ISO yield Cost per page
Black £80 20,000 pages 0.4p
Cyan £100 15,000 pages 0.67p
Magenta £100 15,000 pages 0.67p
Yellow £100 15,000 pages 0.67p
Colour page (all four) about 2.4p

That's toner only. You'd also need to add drums, fusers and other parts, plus service, to compare fairly with a click charge.

Real world yields

ISO yields assume a standard page. If you print lots of heavy coverage pages, such as full page photos or dark backgrounds, you'll get fewer pages per cartridge. If you print mostly short text, you'll get more. Treat ISO yield as a fair way to compare cartridges, not a guarantee.

Included vs extra

There are three common setups, and knowing which you have matters.

1. Leased with a service contract (most common). Toner, parts and labour are included in your click charge. You should get toner delivered automatically when the machine reports it's low. You only pay for paper. Check your contract for exclusions like staples.

2. Bought, with a service contract. Similar to above: you pay click charges that cover toner and service. You just own the machine.

3. Bought, with no service contract. You buy toner and parts yourself and pay for repairs as needed. This is common with A4 printers and some refurbished copiers.

To compare setups, convert everything to a cost per page:

  • For setup 1 or 2, it's your click charge. Published UK ranges are roughly 0.35p to 1.5p mono and 3.5p to 10p colour (Digital Office, checked October 2026).
  • For setup 3, it's toner cost per page plus an allowance for parts and repairs.

If your own toner works out more expensive per page than a click contract, a service contract may save money, especially as it also covers repairs.

Compatible toner

Compatible or remanufactured toner is made by third parties and is often cheaper than the manufacturer's own. It can be a good option for bought machines with no service contract.

Things to weigh up:

  • Quality varies. Good compatibles work well; poor ones can leak, streak or print faintly.
  • Service contracts. On a leased machine with a service contract, using third party toner may breach your terms or affect the supplier's responsibility for faults. Check before you try it.
  • Warranty. Check whether third party toner affects any manufacturer warranty on a bought machine.
  • Yields. Look for ISO yields on compatibles too, so you can compare cost per page fairly.

FAQs

Is toner included in a photocopier lease?

Usually, if you have a service contract. It's normally covered by the click charge. Check your agreement.

How do I compare toner costs?

Divide the cartridge price by its ISO rated yield to get cost per page. For colour, add all four colours.

What do ISO/IEC 19752 and 19798 mean?

They're the international standards for measuring mono and colour toner yields, so you can compare cartridges fairly.

Is compatible toner safe to use?

Often, on bought machines without a service contract. On leased machines, check your contract first.

Why does my toner run out faster than the yield?

You're probably printing heavier coverage than the standard test page.

Compare running costs

If you're paying for toner separately and wondering whether a contract would be cheaper, use the form on this page to get quotes. Our click charges guide and cost guide explain how contract pricing works.