SKU:

Dell-1250

Printer Brand:

Dell

OEM Number:

331-0778, 331-0777, 331-0780, 331-0779

Ink Color:

Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow

Page Yield:

Black: 2,000, Colors: 1,400 Each

Printer Type:

Laser Cartridge Set

Condition:

New Compatible

Frequently Asked Questions

Only the black ran out — why would I replace all four cartridges at once?

Because on the Dell 1250 the four cartridges age together even when they do not empty together. The black does most of the everyday work — letters, invoices, labels — so it usually calls for help first, but the three colors have been sitting in the same machine through the same pages, and a color that is nearly done will start fading within weeks of a fresh black going in. Swapping the whole set in one ten-minute session resets the clock on all four slots at once: the 331-0778 black, the 331-0777 cyan, the 331-0780 magenta and the 331-0779 yellow. You also avoid paying single-cartridge prices four separate times, which is where the real cost of piecemeal buying hides.

What exactly is inside this set?

Four high-yield cartridges, one per slot. The black is part number 331-0778, rated at 2,000 pages. The cyan is 331-0777, the magenta is 331-0780 and the yellow is 331-0779, each rated at 1,400 pages. Those ratings are measured at the standard 5% page coverage the whole industry uses, so they are a fair yardstick for comparing cartridges — a page with a small chart uses a fraction of the toner of a full-color presentation slide, and your real-life numbers will move around the ratings accordingly.

How does the $46.23 price break down per cartridge?

Spread evenly, the set works out to about $11.56 per cartridge — $46.23 divided across the four slots. That is the honest way to read a set price: no one cartridge in the box is a premium item and none is a filler. Against the black rating of 2,000 pages, even charging the entire set price against black pages alone would come to roughly 2.3 cents a page, and in practice the colors are carrying their share of that cost too. For a small office, the set turns toner from four separate purchasing decisions into one predictable line item.

Which printers does this cartridge family serve?

These four part numbers — 331-0778, 331-0777, 331-0780 and 331-0779 — are the shared supply platform for Dell's compact color laser line, so the same set serves the Color Laser 1250c, 1350cnw, 1355cn, 1355cnw, 1755nf, 1755nfw, C1760nw and C1765nf as well as the 1250 this listing is named for. That shared platform is deliberate: an office running two different models from this family stocks one set of cartridges, not two. Check your machine's supply list for any of the four part numbers and you have confirmed the match.

My colors faded while the black still prints fine — is that normal?

Yes, and the ratings explain it. The black is rated at 2,000 pages while each color is rated at 1,400, and most office documents are not purely black — a logo on every letterhead, a chart in every report and a hyperlink's blue on every page all sip from the color cartridges. So the colors can reach the end of their rating while the black still has life left. Fading that starts in one color family — blues going gray points at the cyan 331-0777, weak reds at the magenta 331-0780 — is the classic sign. A fresh set restores all four together and brings the color balance back in one step.

What protection comes with a compatible set like this?

Two layers. Every cartridge in the set carries a 1-year warranty against defects, and the set is backed by 1-year free returns if a cartridge does not perform as it should — the full terms are on our shipping and returns page. These are compatible cartridges, not Dell-manufactured ones, and the warranty and returns window are what make trying them a low-risk decision. If you hit a problem, support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST.

Is there a right order for installing the four cartridges in this set?

No fixed order — the four slots are independent, so work through them one at a time in whatever sequence suits you. What matters is the match: the 331-0778 goes in the black slot, the 331-0777 in cyan, the 331-0780 in magenta and the 331-0779 in yellow, each seated fully before you close up. When all four are in, run the printer's test page and check that every color block comes out solid and even.

We want to keep this set on the shelf as our spare. How should it be stored?

Leave all four cartridges sealed in their packaging, stored flat in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and heat sources like radiators. Toner is a dry powder and does not dry out the way ink does, so a set bought ahead waits patiently for months without losing anything. Keeping the four boxes together also means that when a slot does run low, the whole 331-0778, 331-0777, 331-0780 and 331-0779 family is in one place.

Can I install this set one cartridge at a time over a few weeks instead of all at once?

You can — nothing in the set forces a single session, and each cartridge works independently of the others. Fit the slot that has actually run low and leave the remaining cartridges sealed in the box. Just keep in mind the trade-off the set is designed around: the four cartridges age together in the machine, so the others will likely follow within weeks, and you will be opening the printer again rather than resetting all four clocks in one ten-minute job.

What do we do with the four cartridges that come out?

Keep them until the new set has produced a clean test page and a day or two of normal printing — proof that every slot is behaving. Then the four empties can leave together: a local office-supply store's recycling bin or a municipal electronics collection will take toner cartridges, and bagging each empty first keeps residual toner dust from escaping. There is no need to hold them beyond that; the removed set has done its work.

About This Dell 1250 Set

This is a complete four-cartridge compatible toner set for the Dell 1250 family of compact color laser printers: the 331-0778 black rated at 2,000 pages and the 331-0777 cyan, 331-0780 magenta and 331-0779 yellow rated at 1,400 pages each, priced at $46.23 for all four. It ships from one of our four US warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia or California, and it is covered by our 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns. The rest of our compatible range for these machines is on our Dell toner page.