Page yield is the number of pages you can print with one cartridge. The page yield of a cartridge is based upon the ISO standard for measuring ink cartridge yields by printing out pages with 5% page coverage until the cartridge runs empty. It means only 5% of the page has ink or toner on it

For the purpose of cartridge yield measure, almost all printer manufacturers base their black ink/toner cartridge yields on 5% coverage.

This means only 5% of the whole page is covered with ink or toner. 5% coverage implies basic type with no bold characters, no graphics and no pictures.

It is important to note that the ISO/IEC yield is a comparative statistic and not a predictive tool. The number of pages that customers will get for their own applications will depend on a variety of factors, with page coverage having the highest impact.

Research has shown that the industry average black-and-white page coverage is between 4% and 5%. There is an inverse relationship between page coverage and toner yield — the lower the page coverage, the more pages the toner will yield. Conversely, higher coverage pages result in lower toner yields.

 How to maximize the yield : 

  1. Eliminate or reduce the size of graphics and complex hi res artwork.
  2. Some printer manufactures do not want users to know this but you can set the printer to light mode or econo mode. This will drastically reduce the amount of toner that is being used.
  3. Reduce or change DPI (dots per inch) from the default to 600 or even 300.
     

    Shake The Toner Cartridge Side to Side

    Printer cartridges uses toner in powdered form. Over time, toner can clump up and become unevenly distributed, leading to wasted toner. To extend the life of your toner cartridge, remove the cartridge from the printer, and shake to redistribute the toner evenly then reinstall.

    Turn on Toner Saving Mode

    To do this go to your  print settings, Depending on the laser printer model you can, change print mode to

    1. Draft mode
    2. Fast mode
    3. Toner-saver mode

      These modes use less toner by reducing the density. If content matters more than print quality; these modes are acceptable for working with intra-office documents.

       Font selection and Cartridge yield :

      Information available on the net, shows  increasing the page yield is possible by using specific fonts: Tested against commonly used Arial font shows below results :

       

      Times New Roman:       27% less ink usage compared to Arial
      Calibri:               23% less ink usage compared to Arial
      Century Gothic:        21% less ink usage compared to Arial
      Trebuchet MS:          10% less ink usage compared to Arial
      Tahoma:                 5% more ink usage compared to Arial
      Franklin Gothic Medium: 7% more ink usage compared to Arial
      Verdana:               10% more ink usage compared to Arial

       

       

      Below links explain how Major Brands  measures their cartridge yield  :

      HP ink cartridge  

      https://learn-about-supplies.ext.hp.com/measuring-ink-yield

      HP Laserjet toner cartridge 

      https://learn-about-supplies.ext.hp.com/laserjet-toner-page-yield

      Lexmark Ink & Toner Cartridge

      https://www.lexmark.com/en_US/products/ink-toner/iso-page-yields/index.shtml

      Epson

      https://www.epson.eu/how-epson-measures-print-speeds/iso-page-yield-data

      Canon

      https://www.canon-europe.com/printers/inkjet/ink-yield/

      Ricoh 

      https://www.ricoh.com/printers/supply/PageYield

      OKI

      https://www.oki.com/au/printing/support/consumables-news/understanding-page-yields-and-iso-standards/index.html

      Xerox

      https://www.xerox.com/en-us/office/toner-yields