OEM vs. Remanufactured and Compatible Cartridges
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. OEMs, such as HP, Canon, Epson, and Lexmark are the companies that manufacture your printers. OEM cartridges are cartridges that are branded under your OEM's brand.
Recycled cartridges that are disassembled by third parties (other than OEMs) and have their worn parts replaced are called remanufactured cartridges. To guarantee print quality, remanufactured cartridges are generally refilled, tested in the factory and repackaged.
Go for the remanufactured toners where the drum inside has been changed in each toner. Watch out for the vendors that sell cheaper remanufactured toner cartridges without changing the drum inside. When you purchase remanufactured ink or toner, be sure that it is fully compatible with OEM standards.
Compatible cartridges (replacements) are manufactured by third parties (other than OEMs) and fully compatible with OEMs. Compatible cartridges are the imitation of the OEMs and costs up to 70% less than the OEMs, so they are a good way to save. They are also just plug and print, just like the OEMs.
Most brands' compatible cartridges can be made except for HP, who doesn't allow third parties to manufacture compatible cartridges.
Also be ware that different printers require different formulations. There is no such thing as a generic or universal ink that will work well in all printers and cartridges. That is why they have all these different kits in the market. Some inks will not perform well if used in the wrong printer and can damage your printer. So do not use ink formulated for one printer, in another.
If you find that prices of some cartridges (especially inkjet cartridges) are very expensive, the best thing I can recommend is to use refill kits or compatible cartridges to decrease the overall cost of your printing..
Save Money and the Environment with Xerox Phaser Solid Ink Printers
Xerox line of Phaser printers are among the best printers available for office printing solutions. With their great prices they are the most affordable printers in their class. You can purchase a Xerox printer for only a little more than you would pay for many black-only ink printers. Previous printers in this line had used Laser technology, but they have since upgraded to solid ink. Solid ink, unlike liquid ink, allows for one pass printing that is as fast as a laser printer and is the same quality.
Because you can easily refill the ink without having to purchase entire new cartridges in order to print, it saves you money not only in purchasing the printer but in keeping it filled with ink to keep on printing your office documents. With solid ink, you can just replace the ink without having to purchase entire new cartridges, saving you time and money as well as being better for the environment. Ink is stored in solid sticks rather than liquid which must be contained inside of...
Save Money and the Environment with Xerox Phaser Solid Ink Printers
Ink cartridges > Save Money and the Environment with Xerox Phaser Solid Ink Printers
Can My Cartridge Be Refilled?
New styles of inkjet cartridges are entering the market all the time, faster than anybody can keep up with. It takes time for the remanufacturers to collect empties and tool up to refill them. Sometimes it could take many months for remanufactured or generic cartridges to hit the market. Bulk inks need to be developed or reverse engineered. For this reason we don't always have refill kits or bulk ink or cartridges right away for new printers.
What's a person to do? You ask, "Can my new cartridge be refilled while I'm waiting for the after market to catch up?". Thankfully the answer is a resounding YES! If the manufacturer got ink inside that bugger you can bet you can too. "What about the inks?", you ask. Many new cartridges are just re-hashes of the old ones with minor variations. While you're waiting you can experiment with your old cartridges and try to refill them with the ink you already have.
There are some guidelines to follow here though because I don't condone...
Can My Cartridge Be Refilled?
Ink cartridges > Can My Cartridge Be Refilled?
Buying Laser Toner Cartridges
Compatible Laser Toner Cartridges
Recently, there has been a huge legal and investigative battle with people selling "compatible" laser toner cartridges. Often, a distributor will sell their defective, ineffective, or even damaging laser toner cartridges to unsuspecting resellers. These cartridges will make weak prints, cause messy ink spray, and may cause serious damage to your printer. So be sure to buy cartridges from an authorized reseller that the manufacturer audits. Check the manufacturer's website to obtain a list of authorized resellers.
Beware of laser toner cartridges that are priced way below market standard.
Bad or old packaging should also send up a red flag for phony laser toner cartridges.
Finally, if your cartridge runs out of ink too quickly, gives messy prints, or damages your printer, don't buy from the same retailer again.
This is not to say that all compatible toner cartridges are bunk. But if you're...
Ink cartridges > Buying Laser Toner Cartridges
The Easiest Inkjet Cartridge To Refill
People keep asking me which is the easiest inkjet cartridge to refill and the answer has been the same for years now. Rather than tell you now I'm going to work from the bottom of the pile upwards.Probably the hardest cartridge to refill is the HP C6578. If you've mastered this one give yourself a hardy pat on the back. HP color cartridges like the C1823, the forbearer to the C6578, have been a challenge to refillers because of the unique design that I'm sure was carefully engineered to thwart refilling. Conversely and ironically, HP couples this with a black cartridge that is a snap to refill, the 51645A and C6615.
Go figure. But we still didn't get to the easiest one to refill. Keep reading.Lexmark cartridges have followed the same basic designs as HP. You can see a remarkable resemblance in the Lexmark 12A1980 and itscounterpart 15M0120 to HP's 51625A and 51649A color cartridges. All of these cartridges are a pain to refill but can be done with great success if you know the...
The Easiest Inkjet Cartridge To Refill
Ink cartridges > The Easiest Inkjet Cartridge To Refill
Selecting an Ink Jet printer?With Low Operating Cost
Printer technology has made tremendous advances in the past five years. Speeds are up and print quality is great. Meanwhile, printer costs have declined.What has not improved is the cost of ink. Printer manufacturers expected to make their profit on replacement cartridges, and they do. But in charging high prices they created another industry that they have to compete with.Now there are generic or compatible replacements; you can buy refilled cartridges and refill kits so you can refill them yourself.
Worst of all there are counterfeits. And there's a big market for all of them due to the sky-high price of OEM cartridges.The manufacturers are full of tricks. Some of them use tiny cartridges that don't hold much ink. Most of the standard cartridges are half full of ink. They sell high capacity cartridges at premium prices that are full of ink.
They run promotions on printers that have sample cartridges that barely have enough ink to try out the new printer.These are all...
Selecting an Ink Jet printer?With Low Operating Cost
Ink cartridges > Selecting an Ink Jet printer?With Low Operating Cost