Built for accountants, law firms, school bursars and small office managers across Kenya, the HP 131A Black Toner Cartridge handles the pages that keep a business running. Think invoices, delivery notes, payslips, tender documents and KRA iTax printouts. Black is the colour most offices burn through first, often two cartridges for every colour one. A faded or streaky invoice looks careless to a client. Running out mid-tender at 5:00 PM, with the submission deadline an hour away, is worse. Keeping one spare HP 131A Black Toner Cartridge in the cabinet removes both problems.

Unlike other electronics retailers in Kenya, Mascom International sells only original HP cartridges for this printer family, never refilled or relabelled units passed off as new. At Mascom International, we're seeing more Nairobi offices return to originals after cheap refills leaked toner inside their M276nw. Customers across Nairobi report cleaner text edges and accurate toner-level readings once they switch back. Visit our Kimathi Street store to inspect the seal before paying. Pay-on-arrival delivery also reaches all 47 counties, so a Nakuru or Eldoret office gets its HP 131A Black Toner Cartridge without a trip to town.

It fits four HP models: the LaserJet Pro 200 color M251n, M251nw, MFP M276n and MFP M276nw. Check the label on the front of your printer or the model line on its configuration page. If your printer name ends in 251 or 276, this cartridge slots straight in. It will not fit the newer M254, M255 or M281 printers, which use the 202A, 203A and 206A families. Buying the wrong code wastes KSh 13,500 and a day of printing. Send us a photo of your printer label on WhatsApp and we confirm the fit quickly.

Expect roughly 1,520 to 1,600 pages of standard office text at 5% coverage, the ISO/IEC 19798 test figure. A typical invoice, delivery note or one-page letter sits near that level of coverage. Pages with heavy tables, logos or shaded headers use more toner, so real output may drop to around 1,100 to 1,300 pages. An office printing 300 black pages a month gets about five months per cartridge. Printing internal drafts in grayscale at lower density stretches the count further.

At KSh 13,500 and 1,520 pages, each black page costs about KSh 8.90 in toner. At the 1,600-page figure it drops to roughly KSh 8.40. Add paper at about KSh 1.20 a sheet and a finished invoice costs close to KSh 10. That is well below the KSh 20 to KSh 30 many Nairobi cyber cafes charge per black page. Offices printing 100 or more pages a month recover the cartridge price quickly compared with outsourcing, and they skip the walk to town with confidential files.

Every original box carries HP's security label, which changes appearance when tilted and includes a scannable code for verification. The cartridge sits inside a sealed foil bag, and the printer reports "Genuine HP Supply Installed" once fitted. Refilled units often show scratched chips, toner dust on the drum edge or "Used Supply" warnings. Mascom International sources through authorised HP channels. You can open the outer box in our store and check the label before you pay. Delivery customers can inspect the seal on arrival before handing over cash or M-Pesa.

The black cartridge costs KSh 13,500 against KSh 15,500 for each colour, a KSh 2,000 difference. HP prices this family so that the black unit, used most often, costs less upfront. The trade-off is yield: black lasts about 1,520 to 1,600 pages, while each colour cartridge is rated at 1,800 pages. Per page, black and colour toner end up close, near KSh 8.40 to KSh 8.90. Offices printing mostly text only need to stock black, keeping one spare of each colour for the occasional chart or logo.

Yes, HP also makes the 131X black (CF210X), rated at about 2,400 pages. It suits offices printing more than 500 black pages a month, since it cuts cartridge changes by roughly a third. The standard CF210A suits lighter users and offices that want a lower upfront spend. Mascom International stocks the CF210A as the standard option. Call or WhatsApp +254 708 852 521 to ask about 131X availability and current pricing before ordering. Both codes fit the same four printers.

Usually yes, for a short time. When a colour cartridge hits its low-supply threshold, HP printers let you continue printing and may switch to black-only output depending on the settings. Once a colour cartridge is fully empty, the M251 and M276 may stop until you replace it. You can change the low-supply behaviour in the printer menu to "Continue" or "Prompt" instead of "Stop". Keeping one spare colour cartridge in stock avoids surprise stoppages during KRA filing weeks.

Keep it sealed in its foil bag, flat, away from direct sunlight, between -20°C and 40°C. HP rates operating conditions at 15°C to 25°C and 20% to 80% humidity. A drawer in an air-conditioned or shaded office works well. Avoid car boots, window ledges and rooms above kitchens. Offices along Kenya's coastal strip in Mombasa and Diani should store spares in a closed cabinet to limit humidity. Open the bag only when installing, and shake the cartridge gently five or six times first.

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Every cartridge is covered by the 6-month Mascom warranty above, with claims handled at our Nairobi CBD service desk. Offices, schools and firms throughout Kenya rely on Mascom International for original printer supplies, honest yield figures and pricing that stays current.