The manual is an html based one that is available at:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/5110cn/en/index.htm

Thanks Ray and Richard,

The toner cartridge numbers from Dell for the 5110cn are different than the 5100cn. Does that indicate that they are significantly different? Is there a way I can find out for sure? The pictures look the same but most of the refiller vendors are pretty skimpy on information on the 5110cn.

This is my first color laser and I'm a little gunshy on the consumable costs. So far I've put out 284 prints and I'm down to 80% on all four cartridges. It's hard to estimate how many of those prints were more than 5% coverage. No matter what it is % wise this could get really expensive if I can't get less expensive toner!

Thanks again,
Rick

I initially believed the wildly optimistic figure thrown out by the marketing people of 10,000 sheets b/w and 8,000 for color printed material. I was very upset: I thought I was going to be printing color brochures at $0.067/page. DO NOT Believe them. The printer industry has chosen the 5% coverage figure in order to be able to compare thier printers. Colors are used for charts and pictures and these will always use more toner than text.

The quantity of toner appears to be much less in the color machines than the B/W machines (my subject evaluation here). I had a b/w laser printer that lasted for over 10 years and had a toner cartridge that seemed to have four times the B/W toner capacity of this machine. This old laser printer has worn out and my needs require a color machine now. I will refill my machine toner when I need to shortly.

The toner usage counters only estimate the amount of toner remaining. I called Dell and they told me if you have used ,10%, the counter will round down to 80% of the product remaining. I should have wieghed my cartriges in the beginning to give me the starting figure. My current cartrige wieght for 80% remaining on the counter is: Blk=310 gm Y=275 gm M=295 gm Blue=285 gm.

I think this printer is so new that many of the toner suppliers have not gotten around to updating the products supported. All you need to do is call or email them to see if they have a compatible product.

Thanks for the help. I'll let you know what I find out when I get the time to make a couple of calls... I hope that something is compatable. I'm not sure I can afford the rate I'm using toner combined with the amount of cash they want for replacement cartridges.

How does Dell compare with HP and others with toner usage? Are they all the same?

Rick Stacy

That's a good point Ray. I am the kind of person that uses my toothbrush handle to squish out the rest of the toothpaste in the tube and appreciate these tips to use as much of the toner as possible.

I have my laptop and another computer set up to print just B/W to conserve on the color.

I would imagine if you printed your same color document on another brand of printer using the same average/normal quality you will use a similar amount of toner (just a guess on my part). In my opinion, color should be used selectively and not wasted on the day to day operations of a business. I thought at first I could set the printer for color and forget about it. The counter helped wake me up before I squandered this resource on trivial print jobs.

Keep in mind, if you need color the laser is the way to go. It will be far cheaper than an ink-jet in the long run and the colors don't run when it gets wet. Nothing like having a signed contract disappear after a few drops of water hit it.

Ok... I finally got a few minutes to call Meritline and got dropped before I talked to anyone. I tried again to get to the presale line and tech support and got through to a message but no people. So I'm not having much luck.

Any ideas as to where I can find out if the 5100 toner is compatable with the 5110?

Thanks,
Rick

No, the toner for the 5100 will not work in the 5110. While the toner may look the same they are electronically keyed differently and one will not work in the other. It is advised that you purchase the toner designated for said printer.

Thanks Ray, I appreciate your help! I'm obviously not a VIP at Meritline! According to the Dell moderator they aren't the same. I sure don't want to use something that will not work in the printer. The designated toner from Dell is REALLY expensive though so it would be nice to have Dell price it more reasonable or to have a good alternative.

I'll be interested in what Meritline says... Maybe their supplier is developing the product?

Rick

Thanks for checking it out for me Ray. So far the usage hasn't been too bad. We're using it for stationary (not much color in that) and for some color pieces but not with full coverage. Hopefully we won't burn through a lot of toner in a hurry. We use our regular copier/printer (an older Ricoh) for most of our heavy runs and the Dell for the color pieces.

Right now my page printer count is at 1519 and I'm showing 80% on all four toners.

Thanks again,
Rick Stacy