Storing Toner in Alabama Heat and Humidity: Spares, Spills and Empties

Anyone who has walked across a parking lot in Huntsville in July knows the air can feel like a wet towel. Toner doesn’t like that any more than you do. Toner is a very fine powder, and heat and moisture make it clump and print badly. Where you keep your spares matters more here than it would in a drier climate.

The worst places to keep a spare cartridge

We see spares stored in all sorts of spots. These are the ones that cause trouble:

• A truck or car. A cartridge riding around in a vehicle parked off Memorial Parkway on a summer afternoon can get far hotter than any office. If one has spent time in a hot car, let the sealed box sit indoors for a few hours before you open it. That gives it time to settle to room temperature without condensation forming inside.
• A warehouse, shop bay or garage. These spaces swing between hot and humid in summer and cold in winter.
• A closet on an outside wall. These often run warmer and damper than the rest of the building.
• The top of the printer. It feels convenient, but the printer gives off heat every time it runs.

A cool, dry supply closet inside the building is the right spot. If an outbuilding is truly the only space, keep sealed boxes in a lidded plastic bin off the floor.

How to store a cartridge once you find the spot

Leave it sealed in its box and bag until the day you install it. The packaging keeps out light and moisture. Light can damage the drum inside many cartridges, and moisture is what causes clumping.

Lay the box flat, the way it shipped. A cartridge stored on its end for months can settle unevenly and print light on one side. Some boxes carry an install-by date, so check it when the order arrives.

You probably need fewer spares than you think

One spare for each cartridge your printers use is enough for most offices. It covers the gap between the low toner warning and the next delivery. A full shelf means more cartridges sitting through an Alabama summer, more money tied up, and a pile of parts that may not fit if you replace the printer.

Being local helps here. Orders placed before 3:00 PM ship the same day, and in-stock items ordered before 11:00 AM can be delivered the same day. Local delivery is free. For most offices around Huntsville, Madison and Decatur, that makes a big stockroom unnecessary.

Install day, step by step

1. Take the new cartridge out of the bag and gently rock it side to side a few times to spread the toner, unless the instructions say not to.
2. Hold it by the plastic body. Keep your fingers off the drum, the shiny roller and the metal contacts, since skin oils can show up on prints.
3. Pull the sealing tape straight out in one steady motion.
4. Put it in the printer right away instead of leaving it on a sunny desk.

When toner gets loose

• On skin or clothes: brush off what you can, then rinse with cold water. Hot water can melt toner into the fabric.
• On a desk or floor: wipe it with a damp paper towel. A regular vacuum can blow fine toner right back into the room unless it is made for toner.
• Inside the printer: turn it off, unplug it and leave the cleanup to a technician. Loose toner in the mechanism leads to smudged prints and worse. See our printer repair page.

What to do with the empties

An empty cartridge still has a usable shell and often a working drum, so it shouldn’t go in the dumpster. Many printer manufacturers run free return programs, and the box frequently includes a prepaid label or instructions. Put the empty in the bag and box the new one came in, keep it upright, and follow those instructions.

Two things to avoid. Never burn a cartridge, because toner powder can ignite and the smoke is not something you want to breathe. And don’t drop cartridges in curbside recycling unless your city’s program says it takes them.

Let us keep the supply closet stocked

If you would rather not manage spares at all, our managed print service monitors toner levels and delivers supplies before you run low. Our printer lease program includes free cartridge delivery, plus repair, service and maintenance at no charge when you buy your toner from us.

Already ordering from us? Reorder through EasyOrder, your custom online order form. New customers can build an order form here, or call (256) 883-4567 and we will help you sort out which cartridges your printers take.