I agreed to carry some toner cartridges back to Australia for a friend and when I picked them up from the shop was somewhat horrified at the size of them.

An investigation reveals it's mostly packing, the box is the size of a large shoebox, the toner the size of a cigarette carton. (Brother HL4040CN).

They're vacuum sealed in a plastic bag without any noticeable fragility warnings.

Could there be any problem carrying them loose in the main bag?

What about as carry on luggage? Will airport security scanners get excited when they see them?

I suspect they'll be just fine buried amongst the clothes in your checked bag although should they get damaged and the toner escape .......

I would certainly avoid having them in carry on even if just to avoid having to explain what they are.

I fail to see why someone would bother taking them to Australia, Is this a close friend you can trust?

However if the toner should leak WASH IN COLD WATER ONLY. Hot water will cause the toner to set, I worked as a copier tech for many years and had to wear business appropriate shirts washing in cold water removed the toner with no problem.

Thanks crossy, I just rang the guy and he told me to do that anyway, so it's his problem now.

About explaining... I once took a set of BMW shock absorbers to Manila, they look just like little missiles in outline...

I fail to see why someone would bother taking them to Australia, Is this a close friend you can trust?

However if the toner should leak WASH IN COLD WATER ONLY. Hot water will cause the toner to set, I worked as a copier tech for many years and had to wear business appropriate shirts washing in cold water removed the toner with no problem.

Amazingly they work out about half the price, not a bad saving on 2 sets at $600 a set in Australia. He put the $$$ in my account so no probs there.

Not sure why he doesn't just refill the originals but he said something about them being special small volume units supplied with a new printer.

Thanks for the advice on the washing, who knows it may be worth a couple of new shirts if they leak.

Read the newspaper tomorrow and you will see that packing a toner is nit a good idea now!

Read the newspaper tomorrow and you will see that packing a toner is nit a good idea now!

Agreed.

A federal law enforcement official said initial reviews of the two suspicious cargo packages showed that the one found in England apparently contained a printer or ink toner cartridge with "some kind of white powder" and syringes and wires.

I brought back an HP35A toner cartridge from the U.S. (~ 35% less expensive and no worries about authenticity) in carry-on a few weeks ago. I wouldn't do that now.

If the OP packs in checked luggage then I'd expect that to be potentially thoroughly searched and the toner cartridges closely examined.

Read the newspaper tomorrow and you will see that packing a toner is nit a good idea now!

Agreed.

A federal law enforcement official said initial reviews of the two suspicious cargo packages showed that the one found in England apparently contained a printer or ink toner cartridge with "some kind of white powder" and syringes and wires.

I brought back an HP35A toner cartridge from the U.S. (~ 35% less expensive and no worries about authenticity) in carry-on a few weeks ago. I wouldn't do that now.

If the OP packs in checked luggage then I'd expect that to be potentially thoroughly searched and the toner cartridges closely examined.

Toner cartridges are a common method for drug smuggling.

Read the newspaper tomorrow and you will see that packing a toner is nit a good idea now!

It's me, there's a curse on me.

I'll just have to make sure the paperwork is in order and prepare myself for a bureaucratic battle.

FWIW, unconfirmed reports indicate the TSA will ban toner cartridges next week...

TSA To Ban Printer Cartridges Next Week : SD 1554-10-05

11.05.2010 | Author: flyingfish | Posted in Uncategorized

This coming Monday, the 8th of November, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to announce that it will prohibit airline passengers from flying with printer ink and toner cartridges, sized at 16oz by volume or larger. This will be Security Directive (SD) 1554-10-05.

As of this evening, the TSA appears to be working on the exact wording of prohibiting these items, however prohibiting printer cartridges poses a few challenges … mainly that generally printer cartridges do not have their ink or toner volume readily listed on the cartridge its self.

Having been made aware of this information earlier today, and having confirmed it with a management source within the TSA this evening, I sought the opinion of a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) terrorism analyst for their opinion. This is what the DoD terrorism analyst had to say:

“The prohibition of printer ink and toner cartridges does nothing to enhance the security of passenger flights.