Black carries most of the load in any small office. Quotations, delivery notes, KRA eTIMS invoices, school reports, and M-Pesa statements are mostly black text. That is why the HP 126A Black Toner CE310Ausually empties first, often twice for every colour cartridge. Built for accountants, school bursars, cyber cafe owners, and small shops, it restores dark, crisp lettering after faded or streaky pages start appearing. A refilled cartridge can leak powder inside the printer. The HP 126A Black Toner CE310Aavoids that risk because it arrives sealed from HP with fresh toner and a working chip.

Unlike other electronics retailers in Kenya that mix refills with originals on the same shelf, Mascom International stocks only sealed HP cartridges with intact security labels. At KSh 9,550 across 1,200 pages, each page costs about KSh 8 at standard 5% coverage. Customers across Nairobi report cleaner text and no error messages after switching back from refills. Walk in to compare the HP 126A Black Toner CE310A box against the label on your printer, or order by WhatsApp for pay-on-arrival delivery to all 47 counties.

Five HP models take this cartridge: the LaserJet Pro CP1025, LaserJet Pro CP1025nw, LaserJet Pro 100 Color MFP M175a, LaserJet Pro 100 Color MFP M175nw, and the TopShot LaserJet Pro M275. Check the model name printed on the front panel or the label at the back before ordering. If you are unsure, send a photo of that label to our WhatsApp line. Our team confirms the fit within minutes, so you never pay for a cartridge your printer will reject.

HP rates it at 1,200 pages using ISO/IEC 19798, which assumes roughly 5% of each page is covered in toner. A typical one-page invoice or letter sits close to that figure. Pages heavy with tables, bold headers, or logos use more toner, so expect 800 to 1,000 pages. An office printing 40 pages a day will replace it roughly every month. Printing in draft or economy mode, where your driver offers it, stretches the count further. Printing emails and web pages through a clean text view also saves toner on busy days.

Most office printing is plain black text, so black does roughly three quarters of the work. Invoices, contracts, exam papers, and bank statements rarely need colour. The black cartridge also holds 1,200 pages against 1,000 for each colour, yet it still empties first in most offices. Many of our business customers keep one spare black cartridge on the shelf while buying colours only as warnings appear. That habit avoids a stalled printer during month-end billing, when KRA filing deadlines leave no time for a supply run.

Yes, for most offices. A refill costs less upfront but often yields fewer pages, streaks within weeks, and can spill loose toner onto the drum. Repairing a toner spill or replacing a damaged drum costs more than the saving. The original cartridge prints about 1,200 pages at roughly KSh 8 each, with consistent density from the first page to the last. You also keep HP's warranty on the cartridge, which a refill cancels. Over a year of steady printing, fewer reprints and zero repair visits usually cover the price gap.

Check three things before you open the box. First, the HP security label should change appearance when tilted and carry a scannable code for HP's anti-counterfeit check. Second, the box print should be sharp, with no spelling errors or blurred logos. Third, the cartridge inside should sit in a sealed foil bag. Mascom International welcomes you to inspect the label at our Kimathi Street counter before you pay, and delivery customers can inspect on arrival.

Not every time. These printers use a separate 126A imaging drum, part number CE314A, rated for about 14,000 black pages or 7,000 colour pages. You will replace the black toner many times before the drum is due. The printer shows a separate drum warning when that time comes. If pages show repeating marks or smudges even with fresh toner, the drum is the likely cause, and our team can confirm it from a photo. Send a sample page over WhatsApp before buying either part.

Open the front door of the CP1025 or M175, and the toner drawer slides out. Lift out the empty black cartridge by its handle. Remove the new cartridge from its foil bag, then pull the orange tab and protective strip fully off. Drop it into the black slot, which is marked with a colour label, and close the door. The printer reads the chip and resets the level automatically. The whole job takes under two minutes, with no tools needed. Print a test page afterwards to confirm clean black output.

HP recommends storing unopened cartridges between about 2°C and 29°C, at 35% to 85% humidity. Keep the spare in its sealed box, lying flat, away from windows and direct sun. In Mombasa, Kisumu, or other hot towns, a shelf inside an air-conditioned office is safer than a store room with an iron roof. An unopened cartridge kept this way stays usable for well over a year. Open the foil bag only on the day you install it.

Three ways to order:

The HP 126A Black Toner CE310A comes with the HP toner coverage stated above.

Offices, schools, and cyber cafes across Kenya rely on Mascom International for sealed original supplies, current Kenyan pricing, and direct after-sales support from our Nairobi CBD store.