Refilled toner cartridges 1

[JimInKS]

We have started using refilled toner cartridges in our HP printers. Some of them are noisy and even squeak.

What is your experience with these? Are they a good value or are we asking for trouble?

 

[edfair]

I've used nothing but refilled for 4 years. Generally good value but it depends on the rebuilder and their QC.
Noise and squeaks are a symptom of poor QC. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[JLSigman]

I've seen them in use for about a year. They can be real hit and miss. Bad ones can really hose up or even knock out a printer by leaking toner all over the fuser. While it's a nice concept, the application thereof needs more work. Jennifer Sigman
1/2 of the IT staff (does that make me assistant manager?)

 

[hpwizzard]

As an employeed HP printer tech, I can say that most problems we see with toner refills are bad printouts with stripes or smears, and also noise and squeaks are a common issue. Color laser printer users should be VERY carefully if using refill toner, as a defect refill easily can cause damage for more than a 1000 $ in repair costs. Also the print quality of a refill color toner will never look as good as a original HP color toner or last as long as one. Using non HP color toner is allmost as risky as using non validated transparents in a HP color laser printer.
Also remember: HP has lifetime warranty on toners until they`re empty.

 

[diamonds97]

From my experience the quality is never as good in a refill cartridge whether its toner or inkjet. The HP toners are designed for the HP printer. For our older B&W printers they have worked ok for us but on a $2000 + printer, I can't see taking the risk to save a few bucks on toner. If the cart is a little worn, or leaks toner, you have a big expense to fix it. Is it worth the risk? That's what I look at. Ask this - Will the fellow who refilled your cartridge assume the liability if it damages your laser printer?

 

[k1c2]

Like any product, there are high quality choices and low quality choices. You have to find the high quality remanner. This market (like many others) has a bad name for some because of the ineptness of some. Fifteen years ago, the "refillers" were really giving it a bad name. There is a big difference between a refilled cartridge and a properly remanufactured cartridge. But as with anything remanufactured or rebuilt, the defect rate is normally higher. There is even a big name manufacturer out there who manufactures and sells HP cartridges under their own brand. I find their quality much worse than the remanufacturer I use. You'll note that HP image drums are a light blue color...reman will normally be a dark, just about fluorescent green. If you buy a reman cartridge that is light blue, you have a refill. Some will give a second cycle, but I'd prefer not to take the chance. As per a previous post, I too would definitely stay away from reman color cartridges. As a tech, I can verify those problems. I've had to strip color printers to the shell in some cases, to ensure a complete cleaning job was done. And that's time consuming and expensive. My experience of heavy toner spill with black has been very minimal. (I can count it on one hand in the past 5 years...and 1 of those was an OEM HP toner) The other comment re; will the remanner back up the product if there is a spill, I would definitely look into. As I tell my clients, IF they should have a problem with a toner, whether just the cartridge or even a spill, it's my problem, not theres. Any clean-up will be done by me at no charge. (though I've never had to, but I have gone in and replaced a defective cartridge once in a while) There are a multitude of other things that could be discussed, but in a nutshell, find a quality remanner, that gives good service and also knows printers. Ask for references. I give my new prospects a list of my customers who don't mind answering a few questions on the phone. they can phone them and ask them whatever they like. Hope this helps.