Question about toner for laser printer

[xtatic]

I just bought a Canon Laser Printer. I have only had cheap inkjet printers in the past and just got tired of changing ink all the time. This printer came with what is called starter cartridges, so I am assuming I need to have my replacements handy here at home.

So while looking at replacements, I see there is "compatible" cartridges at a fairly substantial savings over factory canon cartridges. Are these safe or should a guy stick with factory only?

I live 90 miles from my closest staples and 175 miles from a best buy so I wouldn't just go and get them unless I had a trip planned for other things. Thanks and maybe you guys know other options about this also.

[ttocs]

My experience with Canon laser printers is that when we use Canon toner, the printers last for years, and years, and years, and this is with heavy usage in an office.

I know it's not like toner is magical or anything, but unless the toner is guaranteed to be the exact same stuff, then it's a gamble, hence your question.

[KeithL]

I agree.... it's safer top use the proper brand name toner.

And, if anything were to go wrong, using a different brand might void your warranty.
(Or at least give them someone else to blame.)

Also note that, unlike ink jet ink, LASER toner lasts virtually forever (well... a really long time).
So, especially if you only print documents rather than pictures, that starter cartridge may las you a while...
But it also means that there shouldn't be a problem having a spare "on the shelf" for a few years either.

[LuisV]

I would stick with Canon toner. We have an HP LaserJet Pro, purchased it in 2014 and I've only purchase their High-Yield toner cartridges; just checked Amazon and the last time I purchased toner was April 2020, but then again, we very very and I mean rarely print anything.

[xtatic]

Thanks, I will stick to the original replacement Canon cartridge.

[sandbagger]

I have had no issues with cheap off brand toner cartridge, the tech has been the same for a very long time and the cartridge really dont have any tech in them.
nothing magical or special like inkjets where the print head is in the cartridge 

My HP 6P has had nothing but the cheapest ones I can find since I have owned it, got it 2nd hand in 1996 or 1997 and had a HP cart in it when I did.

[405x5]

Mar 27, 2023 8:06:41 GMT -5 sandbagger said:

I have had no issues with cheap off brand toner cartridge, the tech has been the same for a very long time and the cartridge really dont have any tech in them.
nothing magical or special like inkjets where the print head is in the cartridge 

My HP 6P has had nothing but the cheapest ones I can find since I have owned it, got it 2nd hand in 1996 or 1997 and had a HP cart in it when I did.

This makes perfect sense to me.
….And with the inkjet, I always go OEM for the same reasons.

[Boomzilla]

Replacement toners that are from other makers are produced by a method called “drill and fill.” In other words, an empty OEM cartridge has a hole drilled in it to (hopefully) remove ALL residual toner and then to wash the cartridge. Then an appropriate volume of fresh toner is added, the refilled cartridge is (hopefully) tested, the cartridge is sealed, and then sold.

Properly done, this can produce an equivalently reliable toner cartridge at lower cost and lower impact on the environment. But the process does introduce variables including:

Was the original cartridge physically damaged?
Was ALL of the previous toner removed?
Is the replacement toner FULLY compatible with the printer?
Was the correct amount of replacement toner charged?
Is the new cartridge properly sealed against ambient humidity?
Are you willing to void your printer’s warranty for the cost savings on toner?

Historically, the vast majority of toner remanufacturers have good quality control, and their products work reliably. However, the consumer can’t really know which brands are reliable (and which aren’t). So, do some homework before selecting a toner remanufacturer.

Also, measure the potential savings against not only the replacement value of your printer but also against the duty cycle. If your printer serves a large office with a thousand or more pages per month of demand, the savings on recycled toners can be significant. But if your printer is used in a home environment, is the savings per page really worth the potential variables?

When I ran my home business, the client was paying for the cost of toner, so I used OEM products only. Now that I’ve retired, I still use OEM cartridges because we print so much less that the cost difference isn’t justified. Just my two cents - Boom

[KeithL]

I would add one more "unknown" to the "list of unknowns"...

These days there are usually a lot of different steps in any complex process...
This means that a remanufacturer probably purchases the toner they use rather than manufacture it themselves...
Which means that they may use different batches, or even toner they've sourced from different sources, at different times...
This adds one more potential variable to the equation.

The "original company" may do this as well...
But a remanufacturer is more likely to prioritize cost, and less likely to be as concerned with quality control, or to be able to actually test the components and materials they use, than a brand name manufacturer.
(They may also deal with a wider variety of products... and so may be more inclined to "put the same toner in all the cartridges"... and less likely to "make fine distinctions" between individual products... which may or may not actually matter.)

Apr 4, 2023 5:45:03 GMT -5 Boomzilla said:

Replacement toners that are from other makers are produced by a method called “drill and fill.” In other words, an empty OEM cartridge has a hole drilled in it to (hopefully) remove ALL residual toner and then to wash the cartridge. Then an appropriate volume of fresh toner is added, the refilled cartridge is (hopefully) tested, the cartridge is sealed, and then sold.

Properly done, this can produce an equivalently reliable toner cartridge at lower cost and lower impact on the environment. But the process does introduce variables including:

Was the original cartridge physically damaged?
Was ALL of the previous toner removed?
Is the replacement toner FULLY compatible with the printer?
Was the correct amount of replacement toner charged?
Is the new cartridge properly sealed against ambient humidity?
Are you willing to void your printer’s warranty for the cost savings on toner?

Historically, the vast majority of toner remanufacturers have good quality control, and their products work reliably. However, the consumer can’t really know which brands are reliable (and which aren’t). So, do some homework before selecting a toner remanufacturer.

Also, measure the potential savings against not only the replacement value of your printer but also against the duty cycle. If your printer serves a large office with a thousand or more pages per month of demand, the savings on recycled toners can be significant. But if your printer is used in a home environment, is the savings per page really worth the potential variables?

When I ran my home business, the client was paying for the cost of toner, so I used OWM products only. Now that I’ve retired, I still use OEM cartridges because we print so much less that the cost difference isn’t justified. Just my two cents - Boom

[garbulky]

Mar 23, 2023 15:19:43 GMT -5 xtatic said:

I just bought a Canon Laser Printer. I have only had cheap inkjet printers in the past and just got tired of changing ink all the time. This printer came with what is called starter cartridges, so I am assuming I need to have my replacements handy here at home.

So while looking at replacements, I see there is "compatible" cartridges at a fairly substantial savings over factory canon cartridges. Are these safe or should a guy stick with factory only?

I live 90 miles from my closest staples and 175 miles from a best buy so I wouldn't just go and get them unless I had a trip planned for other things. Thanks and maybe you guys know other options about this also.

First see how long your starter toners last. Depending on your use, you may be very surprised.

[vcautokid]

I was wondering when someone was going to say this. So I will. Some manufacturers are chipping their consumables, and any non vendor authorized cartridge going in may declare a fault and printer does not print. Always read the documentation and get more data before considering a 3rd party alternative to the original manufacturers cartridge. My 25 years plus experience in copiers and printers says it is wise to research before you plunk your cash down on a 3rd party cartridge. 3rd party cartridges are cheaper for sure. Ask yourself why are they. I had experience with 3rd party consumables on a customer's copier, yeah costs as much as a high end Ferrari to buy this machine. By the time I was done fixing the mess the 3rd party stuff did, the bill was sky high. Toner, developer, fuser agent was all 3rd party. They went to original manufacturers consumables and never had any problems after that.

[garbulky]

Also when it is time to buy. You should definitely just get the toner shipped from amazon. Find out what toner you need by typing in the name of your printer and "toner" into a google search. Amazon will ship it to you usually in a couple of days. No need to drive to buy toner.

[KeithL]

Indeed.

And this brings up an even more ominous thought...

Let's say you buy a nice new printer...
And, in the instructions, it says to "only use real Brand X cartridges"...
But you read a few reviews... and they say it's not really an issue... so you buy a nice "compatible" cartridge for it... and it works just fine.
This would mean that the manufacturer of your printer isn't checking for "legitimate authorized ink or toner cartridges".... right now.
However it doesn't mean that they cannot do so in the future.

And, even worse, what if, someday, your printer breaks...
So you send it in for warranty service...
And you get back a nice note that says: "According to your printer's brain you've been using unauthorized cartridges - so you've voided your warranty - so you'll have to pay for service."

In other words, depending on how they choose to go about it, it's not impossible that your printer may BEGIN  checking cartridges after some future firmware update.
Or could conceivably be keeping track of what cartridges you feed it...
And, considering that this is something we're beginning to see on some printers, it's not unlikely that many new models have the ability to do so... even if it isn't currently enabled.

(Please note that I haven't seen any suggestions that this has happened yet... but it is not in the least "outside the abilities of current technology" in the least.)

Apr 4, 2023 22:41:58 GMT -5 vcautokid said:

I was wondering when someone was going to say this. So I will. Some manufacturers are chipping their consumables, and any non vendor authorized cartridge going in may declare a fault and printer does not print. Always read the documentation and get more data before considering a 3rd party alternative to the original manufacturers cartridge. My 25 years plus experience in copiers and printers says it is wise to research before you plunk your cash down on a 3rd party cartridge. 3rd party cartridges are cheaper for sure. Ask yourself why are they. I had experience with 3rd party consumables on a customer's copier, yeah costs as much as a high end Ferrari to buy this machine. By the time I was done fixing the mess the 3rd party stuff did, the bill was sky high. Toner, developer, fuser agent was all 3rd party. They went to original manufacturers consumables and never had any problems after that.

[novisnick]

I’ve read thrall of the posts and I may have missed a point or two so I’ll ask. Are we discussing a $200. Laser printer or a $2000. Printer? I now own three Brother Black laser printers. (Not color) Non of these has defaulted or died. First was replaced due to lack of connectivity( yep, its old) and the second due to need at a second location. Connectivity once again for the third. So, all of these Brother Laser printers work like the day I purchased and have used the cheap cartridges after the starter died. Moderate use for all three. Reams and reams of paper through all of them.

Side notes:
Each machine is several generations apart from the other, so like any company the cartridges don’t mix. The last two work flawlessly with my Apple products.
The first one is so old that it predates wireless connectivity, still prints like the day it was made.
These machines list for about $400 but can be found as cheap as $140 If I remember correctly.

Good luck, most home printers are disposable products unfortunately, just like most everything else today.

[Boomzilla]

I’m not so sure I agree that $400 printers are made to be disposable. Of course, it’ll take another decade of use to test my hypothesis…