With more and more offices and individuals using Laser Printers, the demand for Refill Cartridges has increased and thus for Re-manufactured/Refurbished Printer Cartridges. The recycled Toner Cartridges are very much cheaper compared to original replacements. But they have some problems too.
The price of printers have come down considerably during recent years. A Laser Printer has become affordable for individuals. But the Toner Cartridges are not cheaper at all if you prefer to replace them with the original replacements.
For example, when I bought an HP Multi Function Laser Printer for my home office, I could buy it for about AED 850 which is approximately USD 230. One year after, when I changed the full set of 4 cartridges, I paid AED 1250 (USD 340). I could have bought a brand new Laser Printer for less than the cost of replacement cartridges at that time. Instead I bought original replacements as I did not want to throw my printer.
It is this reason, the cost factor, which forces many to use re-manufactured/refurbished toner cartridges. But that adds to more spending if your printer gets damaged by using the refurbished toners.
Problems of using Refurbished/Re-manufactured Cartridges
Refurbished/Re-manufactured Cartridges contain new Toner put into a used Toner Cartridge. The manufactures change defective parts in the collected used cartridges and fill them with new Toner and sell as new ones in the market. But not all the refurbished cartridges are free from defects, which could damage your printer.
Original Cartridges may give more Page Yield compared to the Re-manufactured ones as the latter could be filled with less quantity of Toner. This depends upon manufacturers.
The Print Quality may be substantially reduced while using Re-manufactured Cartridges compared to the Original ones.
The electronic Chips in the Toner must be replaced or reset every time the Toner is refilled. That may not happen with all Re-manufactured ones. These chips communicate with the computer to provide information about the Toner Level. They are programmed for specific Toner designs and some of them cannot be reprogrammed.
The Re-manufactured Cartridges may not have any warranty and hence if they malfunction or get damaged, you lose your money. Chances are that it may damage your printer as well.
It is good if you have reputable providers, who can guarantee about the quality and performance of the Re-manufactured Toner Cartridges. Otherwise, go for the Original Replacement which can safeguard your investment and provide a trouble free operation.
