HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge (CE410A) is now in stock at Mascom International for KSh 15,000, brand new and sealed in HP's original box. HP rates the HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge at about 2,200 A4 pages at 5% coverage under the ISO/IEC 19798 standard. It fits the LaserJet Pro 300 color M351a and MFP M375nw, plus the LaserJet Pro 400 color M451 and MFP M475 families. Collect it from Old Mutual Building, First Floor Room 4, Kimathi Street, Nairobi CBD, or order delivery to any county.
School bursars, SACCO clerks, advocates and hospital records staff lean on the HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge for pages that must be read and filed. Fee statements, loan schedules, pleadings and patient discharge summaries all print on black toner alone. When black runs low, text greys out and ruled table lines break into dots. A faded affidavit or tender form can be turned away at the registry, costing a full day. Swapping in a fresh HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge takes about two minutes and needs no technician. Crisp 600 x 600 dpi text returns on the next page, and your filing queue moves again.
Unlike other electronics retailers in Kenya, Mascom International keeps all four 305A colours on one shelf, so you replace only the cartridge that is actually empty. At Mascom International, we're seeing schools and SACCO branches buy black two at a time, since black empties far faster than any colour on a text-heavy desk. Customers across Nairobi report that one black cartridge covers roughly four months at 500 pages a month. Pay-on-arrival delivery reaches Nyeri, Meru, Kisii and every other county, so the HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge arrives before your next deadline.
Common Questions About the HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge
How many pages does one black cartridge really print?
HP rates it at about 2,200 A4 pages at 5% coverage, which matches a typical letter or invoice. An office printing 500 text pages a month gets roughly four and a half months from one cartridge. Pages with dense tables, dark letterheads or scanned stamps use more toner, so real output often lands between 1,500 and 2,000 pages. Checking the Supplies Status page every month lets you reorder well before the gauge reaches zero. A school bursary printing 1,000 pages during exam weeks should expect to replace black roughly every two months.
What does each black page cost with this cartridge?
Black works out to about KSh 6.82 per page at rated coverage, since KSh 15,000 divided by 2,200 pages gives that figure. A 30-page tender response uses roughly KSh 205 in toner. Cyber cafés around Nairobi CBD usually charge KSh 10 to KSh 20 per printed page, before the walk and the queue. Over a year of 500 pages a month, in-house printing saves a busy office at least KSh 19,000 against cyber rates. Printing in-house also keeps payroll, medical and case files off shared cyber computers and strangers' flash drives.
Which printers accept the CE410A black cartridge?
It fits the LaserJet Pro 300 color M351a, the LaserJet Pro 300 color MFP M375nw, and the LaserJet Pro 400 color M451nw, M451dn and M451dw. It also fits the LaserJet Pro 400 color MFP M475dn and M475dw. All six models use the same four-cartridge set. Check the part number on your empty cartridge before ordering, or WhatsApp us a photo of it and our team confirms the correct code before you pay. Buying the wrong code wastes a trip and delays your printing by a day.
Why does black run out long before the three colours?
Every letter, number and table border on an ordinary office page uses black toner only. A page of plain text draws no colour at all. Schools, SACCOs and law firms therefore replace black two or three times for every colour cartridge. HP sells each 305A cartridge separately for exactly this reason. You pay KSh 15,000 for the empty black alone, instead of KSh 70,950 for a full set while cyan, magenta and yellow still hold plenty of toner. Over a year, that single-colour approach can save a text-heavy office tens of thousands of shillings.
Should I choose this cartridge or the high-capacity 305X black?
The 305A suits offices printing up to about 600 black pages a month, where 2,200 pages lasts three to four months. It costs less upfront, which helps small businesses managing cash flow week by week. The 305X black is rated at about 4,000 pages and suits offices printing well above 800 black pages monthly. Both fit the same printers and the same slot. Call us with your monthly page count and we will work out which one saves you more.
How do I fit the black cartridge in an M451dn?
Open the front door and pull the cartridge drawer out by its handle. Lift the empty black cartridge from its labelled slot. Unpack the new one, hold it by both ends and rock it gently five or six times to spread the toner. Pull the orange tab and remove the protective packing, then drop the cartridge into the black slot. Slide the drawer back and close the door. The printer reads the chip and returns to Ready within about a minute. Bag the old cartridge for recycling instead of binning loose toner.
How can I tell an original 305A black from a clone or refill?
Check three things before paying. The box label should read CE410A and carry an HP security label that shifts appearance when tilted. Inside, the cartridge sits in a sealed foil bag. After installation, the control panel should show no used or non-HP supply warning. Clones and refills often trigger that message, misreport toner levels and leave grey streaks down the page. Every HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge sold at Mascom International passes all three checks.
How should I store a spare black cartridge in Kenyan weather?
Keep it sealed in its box, lying flat, away from windows, kitchens and hot storerooms. HP rates unopened cartridges for storage between -20°C and 40°C at 10% to 90% humidity, so an ordinary cupboard in Nairobi, Eldoret or Nakuru is fine. Offices in Mombasa or Kilifi should avoid damp corners during the long rains. If a cartridge travelled in a hot car, let it rest indoors for about an hour before opening. Warm toner can clump slightly, which shows up as faint patches on the first pages.
Technical Specifications
Black Output and Page Yield
- HP part number CE410A identifies the standard black cartridge in the 305A family on every box label.
- Rated yield is about 2,200 A4 pages at 5% coverage, declared under the ISO/IEC 19798 test method.
- Black carries all body text, table lines and stamps, so it empties first in document-heavy offices.
- Print resolution reaches 600 x 600 dpi, keeping 8-point footnotes and narrow ledger columns readable.
- Dense pages with dark logos or scanned documents raise toner use, so plan on 1,500 to 2,000 pages.
- Actual yield varies with page content, economy settings and how often the printer runs calibration.
Printer Compatibility
- Fits the LaserJet Pro 300 color M351a, a compact single-function printer connected over USB.
- Fits the LaserJet Pro 300 color MFP M375nw, which prints, copies and scans over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
- Fits the LaserJet Pro 400 color M451nw, M451dn and M451dw, a shared printer family for small offices.
- Fits the LaserJet Pro 400 color MFP M475dn and M475dw, which add fax and a document feeder.
- Pairs with cyan CE411A, yellow CE412A and magenta CE413A to complete the four-cartridge 305A set.
- The 305X black, part CE410X, fits the same slot for offices needing about 4,000 pages per cartridge.
Cartridge Design and Protection
- An all-in-one design places toner and imaging parts in one unit, so each swap refreshes print quality.
- HP security labels on the box help buyers confirm the cartridge is an original HP supply.
- A memory chip tracks remaining toner and reports the level on the control panel and in HP software.
- The front drawer lets you replace black alone without touching the three colour cartridges.
- Colour-coded slot labels inside the drawer stop staff from fitting black into the wrong position.
- The boxed cartridge measures about 385 x 109 x 125 mm and weighs roughly 0.9 kg for courier upcountry.
Print Engine Performance
- The M451 and M475 families print up to 20 pages per minute on A4, in black or colour.
- The M351a and M375nw print up to 18 pages per minute on A4, enough for a busy front desk.
- First black page arrives in about 17 seconds from ready, suited to walk-up counter printing.
- HP recommends 750 to 2,000 pages a month on the M451, matching schools, clinics and SACCO branches.
- Duty cycle reaches up to 40,000 pages a month on the M451, absorbing exam-season and audit rushes.
- A 250-sheet main tray and 50-sheet multipurpose tray feed pages into a 150-sheet output bin.
Storage and Operating Conditions
- HP rates cartridge operation at 15°C to 25°C, which covers most air-conditioned and shaded offices.
- Operating humidity of 20% to 80% suits inland offices, while coastal rooms benefit from good airflow.
- Sealed spares tolerate storage from -20°C to 40°C, so a term's stock survives an ordinary cupboard.
- Storage humidity tolerance of 10% to 90% protects boxed cartridges through the long rains in Kakamega.
- Store spares flat and away from windows, because direct heat can clump toner and cause faint patches.
- A cartridge carried in a hot vehicle should rest indoors for an hour before installation.
Cost Planning and Authenticity
- Black toner works out near KSh 6.82 per page at the rated 2,200-page yield.
- An office printing 500 black pages a month spends roughly KSh 3,410 a month on toner.
- HP security labels change appearance when tilted and carry a code you can check to confirm origin.
- The printer checks for an original supply at installation, a test that clones and refills often fail.
- Accurate gauges let bursars reorder early and settle through Lipa na M-Pesa before stock runs out.
- Printing internal drafts in economy mode and finals at normal quality stretches each cartridge further.
Package Contents
The HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge arrives in HP's original printed box with CE410A on the label. A sealed protective bag inside keeps out moisture and dust until installation. The box holds:
- One HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge, part number CE410A
- Protective packing material around the cartridge
- HP recycling guide
Note:Printer, paper and the three colour cartridges are sold separately.
Warranty
Mascom International supports the HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge with a 6-month warranty covering manufacturing defects. HP's own cartridge warranty also covers original cartridges against defects in materials and workmanship. Bring streaking, leaking or chip-recognition problems to our Nairobi CBD service desk, where we inspect the cartridge and arrange a replacement.
Where to Buy the HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge in Kenya
The HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge is available now at Mascom International, located at Old Mutual Building, First Floor Room 4, Kimathi Street, Nairobi CBD. Visit Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and check the seal and part number before paying. Cyan, magenta and yellow 305A cartridges sit on the same shelf.
Order through any of the following:
- Phone/WhatsApp: +254 708 852 521
- Email: info@mascomintl.com
- Website: www.mascomintl.com
Mascom International ships the HP 305A Black Toner Cartridge across all 47 Kenyan counties with pay-on-arrival delivery, so you pay only when it reaches you. Nairobi and its environs receive same-day delivery. Nyeri, Meru, Kisii, Mombasa and all other major towns receive next-business-day delivery. Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Lamu, Tana River, and Turkana receive delivery within 2-3 business days.
Every cartridge is backed by the 6-month warranty above, with claims handled at our Nairobi CBD service desk.
Schools, SACCOs and law firms across Kenya rely on Mascom International for original printer supplies, correct part numbers and direct after-sales support.