Frequently Asked Questions

Who actually buys black toner five cartridges at a time for a C2660DN?

Offices where the printer's black supply is a managed cost rather than a surprise: a busy workgroup burning through a cartridge every month or two, a small business standardising on one machine across desks, or anyone who has run the numbers on this family's pack ladder and seen what the fifth cartridge costs compared with the first.

What exactly is that ladder, in numbers?

A single 593-BBBU costs $30.35. Each further cartridge added to an order adds only about $11.86, so by the 5-pack — $77.79 — the per-cartridge price has fallen to $15.56, close to half the single price. Against five singles at $151.75, this pack saves $73.96.

What does the pack do to the cost of each black page?

Five cartridges at up to 6,000 pages each give a combined rating of 30,000 pages. At $77.79 that is roughly 0.26 cents per black page, against about 0.51 cents buying the same cartridge singly — the running cost is effectively halved. As always the rating assumes standard coverage, so graphics-heavy work lands somewhat higher in practice.

How long could 30,000 pages realistically cover?

It is a page budget to divide by your own volume. At 1,000 black pages a month it is two and a half years of supply, which is longer than most offices should plan; at 3,000 a month it is a comfortable ten months. Work out your monthly figure first — the right pack size follows from it, and for this pack to make sense the volume needs to be genuinely there.

How should five cartridges be kept so the last prints like the first?

Sealed, flat, dry, and out of sunlight and heat, used strictly in arrival order. Toner cartridges store well when left unopened in those conditions; the discipline that matters is rotation and a visible count, so the stock is drawn down steadily instead of forgotten until someone finds five ageing boxes during an office move.

Who should honestly not buy this pack?

A light user, or anyone whose C2660DN is nearing replacement. If one cartridge lasts you a year or more, five could outlive the machine itself, and the saving is only real if every cartridge is eventually used. In that situation the single or the 2-pack is the better buy. If a cartridge from the pack does fail, each is covered by a 1-year warranty with 1-year free returns — terms on our shipping & returns page, with support Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST and shipping from IL, PA, GA or CA.

Can the five cartridges be split between two desks or two floors?

Yes — nothing about the 593-BBBU ties it to one location, and splitting a 5-pack is a common way to stock two C2660DN machines or two ends of an office from one purchase. The discipline that makes it work is a count per location: note on the carton how many went where, so a reorder is triggered by the combined stock rather than by one desk running dry while three cartridges sit forgotten in another cupboard. Rotation still applies within each location — oldest cartridge first, wherever it is stored.

How does a simple log on the carton help manage a stock of five?

It turns a vague sense of 'we have plenty' into numbers. Each time a 593-BBBU goes into the machine, write the date and the printer's page counter on the carton. After two or three changes you know your true interval — say a cartridge every seven weeks — and the remaining boxes convert directly into a forecast: three cartridges left means roughly five months before the shelf is empty. That forecast is what lets you reorder the next pack calmly at the fourth cartridge instead of discovering the stock is gone.

Our black work is mostly shaded reports and presentation decks — how does that change the plan?

It shortens the honest horizon. The pack's 30,000 pages assume standard coverage, and shaded tables, bold blocks and full-page graphics draw considerably more toner per sheet than plain text, so a graphics-heavy office will see the five cartridges finish well ahead of the headline figure. Plan on it rather than being surprised: bring the reorder trigger forward — order when the fourth cartridge goes in, not the fifth — and judge the pack by cost per cartridge, which stays $15.56 regardless of how your coverage treats the page rating.

What should we compare when the fifth cartridge finally runs out?

Your expectations against your records. You know the pack went in on a known date and carried a 30,000-page rating; the calendar and the printer's counter tell you how many months and how many pages it actually delivered. If it covered close to a year of steady work, the 5-pack has proved its size and reordering the same is the easy decision. If it vanished in a few months, your volume has outgrown even this pack's rhythm and ordering needs to become more frequent; if cartridges are still sitting there a year on, a smaller pack fits better next time.

About This Dell C2660DN Black 5-Pack (593-BBBU)

Five compatible black cartridges for the Dell C2660DN, part number 593-BBBU, each rated at up to 6,000 pages — 30,000 pages in total. The pack is $77.79, which prices each cartridge at $15.56 against $30.35 singly, saves $73.96 over five separate purchases, and cuts the black page cost to about 0.26 cents at the rating. It is the stockroom end of this family's range, for steady, measurable black volume. It ships from our IL, PA, GA or CA warehouses and is backed by a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns. See the rest of the range on our Dell page.