Frequently Asked Questions

The C1660 has four slots — why does this set contain five cartridges?

Because the fifth is a spare, not a fifth slot. This set draws five cartridges from the same family — 332-0399 black, 332-0400 cyan, 332-0401 magenta and 332-0402 yellow — so that when the first cartridge in your printer runs dry, its replacement is already on your shelf instead of in transit. Which cartridge you will need first depends on what you print, and the spare exists to cover that moment.

What does the fifth cartridge effectively cost?

Very little. The five-cartridge set is $48.84 against $43.91 for the standard four — a difference of $4.93 for the extra cartridge. Averaged across the box, each cartridge works out to $9.77, the lowest per-cartridge figure short of the largest pack we sell for this family.

What yields do the cartridges carry?

The same ratings as every set in this family: the 332-0399 black at 1,250 pages, and the 332-0400 cyan, 332-0401 magenta and 332-0402 yellow at 1,000 pages each. The extra cartridge does not change any individual rating — it simply means one of those ratings is available to you twice before you need to reorder.

Who is the five-cartridge set right for — and who should skip it?

It suits a C1660 that prints regularly enough that running dry mid-job is a real annoyance: a home office with deadlines, a small shop printing its own paperwork. Very light users should honestly skip it — if a single set lasts you the better part of a year, a spare cartridge is money sitting in a drawer, and the standard four-cartridge set is the better buy.

What covers the cartridges in this set?

All five are compatible cartridges covered by a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, under the terms on our shipping & returns page. The spare is covered on the same terms as the four that go straight into the printer.

Where does the set ship from?

From the nearest of our warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California. Support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST, and the rest of this printer's range is on our Dell toner page.

Which slot should the fifth cartridge be the spare for?

Treat it as a floating spare rather than assigning it in advance. Install the full round — 332-0399 black, 332-0400 cyan, 332-0401 magenta and 332-0402 yellow — and keep the fifth sealed on the shelf for whichever gauge reaches empty first. Offices rarely know in advance whether black or a color leads their consumption, and the spare earns its keep precisely by covering the slot nobody predicted. When a gauge does hit empty, the replacement is already in the building.

What can the first round teach us about when to reorder?

Write the date and the printer's page count on each box as its cartridge goes in. When the first cartridge empties, that note tells you your real months-per-cartridge for that slot — a far better planning figure than any rating. Multiply that pace across the round and you will know, within a week or two, when the set will be used up. Home offices that keep this simple log stop being surprised by an empty slot mid-job.

Does the spare cartridge need any different storage from the four in the printer?

No — the same plain rules. Keep it sealed in its bag, upright, in a cool dry cupboard away from sunlight and heating vents. Toner does not dry out, so a sealed 332-series cartridge waits patiently for months without losing anything. Resist opening it early just to look at it: the seal is what keeps the toner clean and contained, and it only needs to come off in the minute before the cartridge goes into the printer.

Once the spare goes into the printer, what should happen next?

That is your reorder trigger. The moment the fifth cartridge leaves the shelf, the set has no safety net left — you are running on the last round in every slot. Ordering the next set then, rather than waiting for the next empty gauge, means the replacement box arrives while the printer is still fully stocked. It turns toner buying from an emergency into a routine, which is the entire point of choosing the five-cartridge format.

About This Dell C1660 5 Color Set (332-0399, 332-0400, 332-0401, 332-0402)

This five-cartridge set is built from the C1660's complete toner family — the 332-0399 black rated at 1,250 pages and the 332-0400 cyan, 332-0401 magenta and 332-0402 yellow rated at 1,000 pages each — with one extra cartridge added as a shelf spare. At $48.84 it costs just $4.93 more than the four-cartridge set, bringing the average cost per cartridge down to $9.77. For a small printer that works regularly, that is cheap insurance against the day a cartridge runs out mid-job; every unit is a compatible cartridge backed by a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns.