subject: The Benifits Of Remanufactured Toner Cartridges [print this page] As I write this article approximately 18 to 22 % of laser toner cartridges are re-used here in the UK. Many business and home printer users are still unaware of the many benefits of using remanufactured toner. The object of this article is to raise awareness of the many benefits of remanufactured toner cartridges.
What is a Remanufactured Catridge?
So, what exactly do we mean by a remanufactured cartridge? A remanufactured cartridge is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) cartridge that has been returned to a remanufacturer, usually, via a recycling program. It is then professionally cleaned, refilled, tested and repackaged for resale. It is not uncommon for certain parts to be replaced such as gears and bearings. Some cartridges have an onboard counter chip or fuse that may need replacing in order for the printer to accept it as a new cartridge. Remanufacturers are usually very well equipped to deal with this sort of thing.
The Environment
Aside from the low price, one of the main reasons companies choose remanufactured toner is to help the environment. It is estimated over a billion toner cartridges are shipped worldwide each year. Only 14% of these will be third party cartridges, and not all of these will be remanufactured. This is obviously a huge burden on landfills worldwide. Realistically we can never completely stop the waste generated buy the printer industry but we can look towards remanufacturing as a way to severely reduce the amount of cartridges thrown away.
A lot of electronic refuse ends up in many poorer countries like Nigeria and parts of China. With no strict pollution control contamination from electronic waste is a big problem in many of these areas.
Toner cartridges have been seen lining some roads in rural areas of Chinas Guangdong province.
This huge mound of printer and scanner parts, including color toner cartridges can be seen dumped alongside a tributary of the Liangjiang River in Guiyu.
Old toner cartridges and colourful cyan and magenta toners are dumped near the river. Rivers are convenient dumping areas for unrecyclable components of imported waste.
Oil And Plastic
And lets not forget that remanufacture avoids using the oil for the plastic and the energy expended in the factory. Remanufacture recaptures many of the resources used in the original product.
Save s !
The main attraction of remanufactured printer toner cartridges has to be the vast savings that can be made. Just five minutes comparing prices online will show that savings of up to 60% or higher are not uncommon. These cartridges are often of comparable quality and reliability to OEM cartridges. In fact, many remanufactured cartridges have up to 20% more toner than OEM cartridges.
There is absolutely no reason why these cartridges should be so expensive! The customer deserves the choice when it comes to any consumable product. Take petrol for example. Would a car manufacturer make a car that would only accept a certain bran of petrol? Of course not.
All About the Money
Why dont OEMs want you to use remanufactured cartridges? It could be about the money In one year Hewlett Packard reported revenue of $5.1 billion on consumables alone! This made up 13% of the total company revenue. Over half of all Lexmarks revenue is from consumables. There are many tactics that discourage customers from purchasing third party toner products. It is widely thought that using a remanufactured toner cartridge will void the equipment warranty. This is untrue. Although limited warranties usually will not cover damage due to non-OEM consumables, warranty is still in effect for other problems.
Your Choice
At then end of the day it is you, the customer that draws the line here. If you dont already use remanufactured toner, I hope this article will have convinced you to at least give it a shot.
