Laser toner cartridges are found in fax machines, copiers and laser printers. While inkjet cartridges squirt ink to print images, laser printers use toner, a dry powder, to create images. During the printing process, the toner is electrically charged, which makes it stick to the drum of the printer. When the drum hits the paper, the toner is transferred to the paper, where it is fused to the surface after it is melted.
Generally, laser toner cartridges are much bigger than your typical inkjet cartridge; they are 9-12 inches wide. Due to the process of melting that is involved in transferring images, laser printers usually come in black and white. Colored toners are available, but colored laser printers are very expensive.
When the time comes to replace your toner cartridges, you have a number of choices. You may: ? Purchase a branded OEM laser printer toner cartridge, ? Use a compatible laser toner cartridge, ? Buy a remanufactured toner cartridge or ? Just go for toner refills.
Each of these has their positive and negative sides.
OEM cartridges: These are recommended by the printer manufacturer. Supposedly, these give you the best print performance. OEM cartridges are quite expensive, thus adding heavily to your overhead costs. On the other hand, there is little difference in quality or longevity between OEM cartridges and a high quality compatible or remanufactured cartridge.
Compatible toner cartridges: They are similar to OEM cartridges but are made by a different manufacturer. Generally, these are manufactured by a generic company but are subject to the same manufacturing standards as the OEM cartridge. Compatible toner cartridges come at a fraction of the cost of OEM cartridges. Using these cartridges does not void the manufacturer’s guarantee on your product. Thus, they are a very attractive alternative to OEM cartridges.
Remanufactured or recycled toner cartridges: These are previously used toner cartridges that have been restored at a factory. When the cartridge is empty, the consumer simply sends it to the manufacturer who opens it, cleans it and refills it. These are then thoroughly tested to ensure quality. Obviously, cost efficiency is a major advantage of using recycled. Also, these cartridges are environment friendly since you are re-using the same cartridge.
Toner refills: Purchasing a refill kit is your most inexpensive option. These kits are easy to use and refilling a cartridge takes only a few minutes. Toner refills are cheap. You can refill your cartridge yourself in a short period of time. Besides, refills are universal, which means that you can use the same refill on different laser cartridges.