Toner Refill Kits - worth it?

[drwoo123]

Anyone have experience with getting their toner refilled with one of these local services like cartridge world.

Did it work out okay or did the print quality degrade too much?

Any color laser printer that does have good non-OEM replacement cartridges. I'm asking because we print a lot of pages per month and the cost of consumables is so high.

Otherwise maybe a good ebay vendor

 

[cmdrdredd]

I have an HP CP1518ni and I have had bad luck with aftermarket toners. Never did the refills but I can't imagine it'd work out better than the generic ones. I always buy HP toner now. You can get a discount at most places if you buy more than one at a time.

I checked out ebay but I didn't end up finding a reputable seller. A lot of complaints about colors not working properly for the toners I need (HP125A).

 

[corkyg]

A few years ago, I was prining a monthly newsletter, and used a lot of toner. I used refills that were very good. They replaced the drum in the cartridge. The originals are short lived.

Now, I don't print much at all - so I don't use refills. A good refiller will replace the drum in a H-P laser cartridge. It is then good for several refills.

 

[cmdrdredd]

A few years ago, I was prining a monthly newsletter, and used a lot of toner. I used refills that were very good. They replaced the drum in the cartridge. The originals are short lived.

Now, I don't print much at all - so I don't use refills. A good refiller will replace the drum in a H-P laser cartridge. It is then good for several refills.

Do you happen to have a link for them or was it a local place?

 

[C1]

Ive used these guys and had no problems: www.4inkjets.com/

They repair or replace any worn cartridge parts including roller.

The one I bought just before last was a refill from a local store. They put so much toner in it that the cartridge lasted lover six years! (Was amazing.)

 

[MontyAC]

I use this site for my laser ink refills. The refill ink is use the same as the oem ones for my Brothers printer. They also have instructional videos on youtube on how to refill.

http://www.inkowl.com/

 

[Childs]

I bought refill toner on ebay for a Brother laster printer. Its hard to argue with the price, as it was like getting 4 cartridges for the price of 1. In fact, I've only used 2 bottles out of the 4 so far, and I am still using the starter cartridge. You should see what it takes to refill your own cart. Doing it yourself could save you even more money.

 

[corkyg]

Do you happen to have a link for them or was it a local place?

Sorry - that was about 10 years ago, - all I remember they were in the Portland, OR area. Look for one that replaces the original drum as part of the deal.

 

[drwoo123]

I bought refill toner on ebay for a Brother laster printer. Its hard to argue with the price, as it was like getting 4 cartridges for the price of 1. In fact, I've only used 2 bottles out of the 4 so far, and I am still using the starter cartridge. You should see what it takes to refill your own cart. Doing it yourself could save you even more money.

Was your experience with ebay of a similiar quality? Do you mind sharing the vendor? We ordered a set off ebay for our brother but the quality was just meh

 

[drwoo123]

I use this site for my laser ink refills. The refill ink is use the same as the oem ones for my Brothers printer. They also have instructional videos on youtube on how to refill.

http://www.inkowl.com/

What do you think of the quality? Is the process as easy as they show in the video?

 

[Childs]

Was your experience with ebay of a similiar quality? Do you mind sharing the vendor? We ordered a set off ebay for our brother but the quality was just meh

Yeah, it was ebay. Here is the vendor. I just compared the refill kits against full carts, and it looks like the cost of 3rd party carts are much cheaper then they once where. Check Amazon to compare.

 

[MontyAC]

What do you think of the quality? Is the process as easy as they show in the video?

The first time I tried to refill my laser cartridge, it took me a while to do it. I had to go slowly since it's powder that I'm pouring. I made sure that I had paper towels and wipes to clean the powder that got on the outside of the cartridge. The second and later times were much faster and neater. Practice makes perfect.

The toner quality is excellent. I can't tell the difference. Make sure you empty out what's left in the cartridge before filling the new toner.

 

[corkyg]

The ink quality is excellent. I can't tell the difference. Make sure you empty out what's left in the cartridge before filling the new ink.

You mean ink or toner? There's a very big difference

 

[MontyAC]

Toner, I corrected the post.

 

[Binky]

The quality is never as good as the OEM. The number of pages printed is always less than the OEM. The refills sometimes leak toner into the printer, or all over your office. I've even had one printer die because the refill toner cartridge jammed up and killed the printer. The refills also tend to stink more while printing (I'm sure we'll all learn in 20 years than this crap causes cancer :O).

Bottom line: they are cheaper, and they are cheaper per page, but the cost per page is higher than it appears (less pages printed) and they have downsides. Stick with OEM if you don't print that much.

 

[Zap]

With my previous laser printer, I had a reasonable experience with doing my own refills. I think I purchased a 3-pack refill for around $20. A bit of a mess but that was expected. Worked great! Second and 3rd refills, not so much. It refilled the same, but prints were not as clear. Probably why replacement cartridges have a new drum as part of it.

My new printer has a chip inside the cartridge so you can't just refill it, unless you find a replacement chip or a way to reset it. On the flip side, official replacement cartridges were a lot cheaper than my old printer, so it isn't too terrible. I think cartridges for old printer was around $75. New one is under $40.