Frequently Asked Questions

Why buy two cartridges at once when one lasts 5,000 pages?

Because the second cartridge is insurance, and cheap insurance at that. One cartridge in this 2-pack effectively costs $67.99 — down from $77.23 singly — and the pair covers 10,000 pages, saving $18.48 against two singles. But the real argument is operational: the spare sits sealed on the shelf, so the day the installed cartridge runs dry mid-job, the replacement is already in the building. No emergency order, no waiting, no printer down for days.

Does a stored cartridge go bad on the shelf?

Not if it stays sealed. Kept flat, in its packaging, in a dry place at ordinary room temperature and out of direct sunlight, a toner cartridge stays ready for a long time — certainly for the months between a 1600's cartridge changes. What damages cartridges is heat, damp and being opened and left exposed, so the rule is simple: do not open the spare until the day you need it.

What does the 2-pack do to the cost of a page?

It brings it from about 1.54 cents to about 1.36 cents per rated page: $135.98 across 10,000 pages. That is still not a departmental-cartridge figure — this remains a small-cartridge family — but it is a real reduction for no change in what you print. The 3-pack and 5-pack in this family push it further, to about 1.30 and 1.25 cents respectively.

Who should not buy the 2-pack?

An office that prints very little — under 100 pages a month — will take over four years to use two cartridges, and tying up the cash is pointless even at the saving. For everyone printing a few hundred pages a month or more, the second cartridge will be used within a year or two, and the saving plus the spare-on-hand argument both hold.

Is this a genuine Dell product?

No — these are compatible 310-5417 cartridges, built by a third-party manufacturer to the same specification rather than by Dell. The 5,000-page-per-cartridge rating and the $135.98 pack price are as stated; the difference is the badge on the box and the price you pay.

What cover comes with a 2-pack?

The same terms as a single: a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns on each cartridge, explained on our shipping and returns page. Orders ship from our warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia or California, and support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST.

About This Dell 310-5417 Toner Cartridge 2-Pack

Two compatible high-yield black cartridges, Dell part number 310-5417, each rated at 5,000 pages — 10,000 pages in total — priced at $135.98, or $67.99 per cartridge, for the Dell 1600. One to use, one sealed on the shelf: the cheapest form of insurance against a printer standing idle. Backed by a 1-year warranty with 1-year free returns, and the wider Dell range is on our Dell toner page.