I purchased a new Samsung ML-2010 (black laser printer) sometime ago, knowing they contain only a small amount of toner, I tried to buy a bottle of black toner as I did many years before for the previous Samsung ML-1740 I had (still working but an insect got cooked in it, leaving smudges on the paper) but I have had no success in locating a supplier (in .au)

The best I can find is a supplier advertising for toner but showing the complete cartridge for about $AU100 when I paid $AU85 for the machine.

Is it a matter of throwing away the printer when the toner runs out or can someone enlighten me on the subject?

Thank you for your help.

Moving to General (Not a Linux question)

Yes, the money in printers is in the consumables.....

Do some Google searches for companies that refill toner carts.

Pix is right.

Printers are like razors -- practically given away. Toner and ink are like razor blades -- very expensive.

There is a move afoot to have ink and toner companies disclose how much ink or toner is actually in their cartridges, rather than simply saying you'll get "________ pages" out of this. They do it in terms of estimated pages so that when you complain about running out of ink fast they can say that your printer settings are different from what they were measuring the number of pages against. God forbid they admit that they are only giving you tiny amounts of ink and that's the real reason for you running out. People should support the disclosure regulations.

I bought a Dell P1500 laser printer (refurbished, and it's a rebranding of some Lexmark printer I believe) for about $100 some years ago. 6,000 page toner cartridges cost about $120, and 3,000 page cartridges cost around $80. It's not unusual for ink and toner to cost more than the printer.

Don't throw it away; bad for the the ecology. Like Pix said, google for cheaper sellers or refillers.