What is the Page Yield? How is the page yield determined?

What is the Page Yield? How is the page yield determined?

What is Page Yield?

Page yield is the expected number of pages that a cartridge can print when measuring using the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) guidelines. All printer manufacturers use ISO's standardized test to determine the yield of a cartridge.

Research has shown that the industry average for printing is approximately 5% of an A4 page. ISO has used that average to develop their test pages. Since it is unlikely that a customer will replicate the precise conditions of the ISO's controlled testing environment, the individual cartridges can perform above and below the estimated page yield due to multiple factors. This can include, but not limited to, the coverage of the document, font size, number of pages per job, paper type, printer settings, variations in the cartridge manufacturing process and external factors in the environment. 

The declared yield is not intended to be the minimum or exact number of pages that the cartridge will print. Rather, the estimated page yield should be used as a starting point of comparison for different brands and models. It will help you make informed purchase decisions about printer cartridges and printers.

The page yield provided by Ink Station is supplied by the printer manufacturers or our cartridge supplier.

How is the page yield determined?

Monochrome Toners - Under the ISO/IEC 19752 guidelines,
  • a standard page is printed continuously until the cartridge reaches the end-of-life.
  • the test page represents approximately 5% coverage.
  • only intended for the measurement of page yield when printing on plain paper. 

Colour toner & ink jet - Under the ISO/IEC 19798 and ISO/IEC 24711 guidelines respectively 
  • a standard set of 5 pages is printed continuously until the cartridges reaches the end-of-life. 
  • the 5 test pages represents approximately a 20% coverage on aggregate. Which is approximately 5% each for black, cyan, magenta and yellow.
  • only intended for the measurement of page yield when printing on plain paper. 

Currently only toner and ink cartridges are subject to ISO standards. The yields for drums, fuser units, waste toner boxes and other consumables are published based on the manufacturer's own testings methodologies.