5. Cartridge Alternatives

Last but not least, it's worth also mentioning toner cartridges, which remain one of the most expensive parts of running a printer. It's no wonder alternatives have popped up to the manufacturer-sanctioned varieties, and they can clearly help save you some money. Our Serial Refiller column, in fact, has looked in depth at several of these, including offerings from , and .

There are also toners that have been designed with environmental sustainability in mind. Fuji Xerox's is one of these, and it can reduce power consumption by up to 40 percent, the company says.

Of course, there's also the perennial question of when to replace cartridges, since in some cases months can go by between when the "toner low" light goes on and when streaks actually begin to appear on the page. We're still waiting for software that will tell us the honest truth on that one.