Remanufactured HP CE400A (HP 507A) black laser toner

Recently HP published a warning to consumers about the risk of using remanufactured toner cartridges. RT Recycling Times Media provided a summary of HP’s cited reasons at its 7-8-2014 post. With regard to HP’s claim, consumers should be aware of the following facts concerning remanufactured toner cartridges vs OEM:

“Remanufactured toner cartridge may cause damage to the printer.”

It is true that not all remanufactured toner cartridges are made equal. In the aftermarket ink and toner industry, the term ‘remanufactured toner cartridges’ refers to cartridges which use recycled parts of the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) product. The manufacturing process then involves a standardized procedure of parts dismantling and inspection, cleaning, refilling of toner and reassembling. Dependable remanufacturers of generic toner cartridge are vigilant in adhering to the standardized procedure. When the stringent manufacturing standard is followed, there is little difference between the quality of remanufactured toner cartridges and the quality of OEM products. Consumers need to be wary of the source of supply and choose only reliable suppliers of remanufactured cartridges. Quality remanufactured toner cartridge suppliers like Inkjetstar.com would back up their products with satisfaction-guaranteed return and exchange policy. Also consumers need to be wary of purchasing counterfeit cartridges which are marketed as OEM products by some auction websites and non-authorized retailers but are in fact refurbished and refilled cartridges by third-party suppliers.

“Poor reliability and print quality of remanufactured toner cartridge will eventually make non-HP toner 10% more expensive than OEM cartridge.”

The cost of OEM cartridge is known to be high and sometimes the replacement cost exceeds the price of the printer. As a matter of fact, it is the marketing strategy of the printer manufacturers to offer low cost laser printers while aiming at selling expensive replacement toner cartridges. Remanufactured toner cartridges use recycled parts and are generic brands. Their pricing is generally at a fraction, 50% to 70%, of the cost of OEM cartridges. The quality of these aftermarket products is guaranteed by reputable and reliable manufacturers and retailers. Consumers need not worry about the warranty of the printer when using remanufactured toner cartridges. The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act prohibits the voiding of the printer warranty when aftermarket cartridge is used.

“Remanufactured cartridges are not environmentally beneficial because they are usually thrown away instead of being recycled.”

In the first place, remanufactured cartridges use recycled parts. Secondly, whether it is OEM or remanufactured cartridges, recycling used or empty cartridges is required as the residue chemicals are considered hazardous material that would harm the environment. There are different ways to discard remanufactured toner cartridges. Empty or used cartridges can be sent to local recycling centers, participating local office supplies stores (such as Staples).or participating schools or charity organizations which would collect and recycle them appropriately. More information about recycling cartridges can be found at our blog.

“Remanufactured cartridge may not give the same page yield as OEM cartridge because most manufacturers of third-party products do not adhere to the ISO standards for measuring page yields.”

The most widely used description of cartridge capacity or page yield is “number of printed pages at 5% coverage”, with final results depending on a number of factors. The ISO, International Standards for measuring page yield of ink and toner cartridge, aims at standardizing the methodology to determine the cartridge capacity. The ISO provides manufacturers with additional criteria and definition for the measurement process such as test preparations and paper types etc. Generally, consumers of remanufactured cartridges are protected under the guarantee of the remanufacturers and the online suppliers such as Inkjetstar.com. Reliable remanufacturers will be responsible for the quality test of each cartridge so that it exceeds or is equal to the performance of OEM product. As an additional layer of protection to our consumers, Inkjetstar.com offers 100% satisfaction-guaranteed return policy. Within 180 days of purchase and given that the returned product is at least 70% toner-filled, consumers will receive a full refund of the purchase price less shipping and handling, or a prompt free exchange upon the receipt of the defective cartridge.

Inkjet Star, Inc. is your reliable online supplier of quality replacement ink and toner for Brother, HP, Samsung, Lexmark, Xerox, Canon, Dell, Epson and Kodak printers. Go to the Ink Blog archives to see all of our blog articles.