Last Updated on April 11, 2023 by
Did one of your company’s printers just run out of toner? If so, you’ll need to replace the toner in it ASAP.
You’ll also want to make it a point to have extra printer toner cartridges around at all times. It’ll help you avoid having to shut down a printer at any point due to a lack of toner.
Prior to stocking up on toner cartridges, though, you should make sure that you’re buying the right types of printer toner cartridges. There will be a handful of them to choose from.
You’ll have the option to purchase OEM toner cartridges, new compatible cartridges, remanufactured cartridges, and refilled cartridges. You should learn about the pros and cons of each of these types of replacement cartridges to put yourself in a position to go with the right one.
Here is everything you need to know about the four main types of printer toner cartridges.
Table of Contents
OEM Toner Cartridges
The OEM in OEM toner cartridges stands for “Original Equipment Manufacturer.” These are the types of printer toner cartridges that are made by the company that created the printers that your company uses.
Many printer manufacturers will tell you that you have to use these kinds of printer toner cartridges to avoid problems with your printer. But as you’ll soon see, this isn’t always the case.
You may, however, want to consider going with OEM toner cartridges just to keep things simple.
Pros of OEM Toner Cartridges
The biggest benefit of using OEM toner cartridges over the other types of printer toner cartridges listed here is that they’re the ones recommended by your printer manufacturer. So you shouldn’t have to worry about experiencing any major issues with them as long as you put them in place properly.
OEM toner cartridges are almost always going to prove to be very reliable. They’ll have much lower failure rates compared to some other kinds of printer toner cartridges.
You’ll find yourself being a lot less concerned about your company’s printer toner cartridges when you go with these ones in the end.
Cons of OEM Toner Cartridges
Although there are obviously a bunch of benefits that come along with using OEM toner cartridges, there is one big downside associated with them. These types of printer toner cartridges are going to cost more money than all your other options.
If you don’t mind forking out more money for the peace of mind that these printer toner cartridges will provide, have at it. But you might be better off going with other toner cartridges that aren’t going to break the bank.
New Compatible Cartridges
While OEM toner cartridges are made by the manufacturers of printers, new compatible cartridges are made by third-party companies. They look a whole lot like OEM compatible cartridges do. But they won’t have any OEM branding on them.
Many manufacturers will tell you that new compatible cartridges aren’t always going to deliver the same results that OEM toner cartridges will. But that’s usually not the case. It’s why you might not want to write off buying new compatible cartridges.
Pros of New Compatible Cartridges
When you first start using new compatible cartridges in a printer, you usually won’t be able to tell the difference between them and OEM toner cartridges. They’ll be able to provide you with the same great results in terms of printing.
But you’ll spot one huge difference between them right away. New compatible cartridges will cost just a fraction of what OEM toner cartridges do. As a result, you may be able to save your company a significant amount of money each year by using them.
You’ll appreciate the fact that you can shop around for new compatible cartridges to see where you can get them for the best possible price. You won’t get this same opportunity if you’re buying OEM toner cartridges all the time.
Cons of New Compatible Cartridges
As we alluded to earlier, there are some printer manufacturers that will try to tell you that new compatible cartridges might do damage to your printers. And to some degree, they’re right. New compatible cartridges can damage your printers if you don’t buy the right ones.
You should be able to find the right printer toner cartridges for your printers easily, though. You’ll just need to make sure that you buy them from a reputable company that is known for producing high-quality new compatible cartridges.
Visit https://premiumtoners.com/ to find great new compatible cartridges from a variety of brands. You’ll be able to find excellent printer toner cartridges for printers made by Brother, Canon, Dell, HP, and more.
Remanufactured Cartridges
Unfortunately, a lot of the printer toner cartridges that are used each year end up getting thrown away in the trash. This often results in them making their way to landfills where they then sit for years on end.
But the good news is that many companies have started to recycle printer toner cartridges since they can be reused. It’s made it possible for the rise of remanufactured cartridges to take place.
These types of printer toner cartridges are old cartridges that have been inspected, refilled with toner, and sold to be used again. They’re some of the most eco-friendly kinds of office supplies on the market today.
Pros of Remanufactured Cartridges
When you purchase remanufactured cartridges, it might feel like you’re actually getting OEM toner cartridges. They’ll look just like them in many cases and perform up to their same standards.
In fact, you might not be able to tell the difference between the printing quality offered by OEM toner cartridges versus remanufactured cartridges. Remanufactured cartridges will provide great finished products when you use them to print and experience low failure rates.
The only big difference between OEM toner cartridges and remanufactured cartridges is that remanufactured ones will be less expensive. Some remanufactured cartridges will actually come in at a lower price point than new compatible cartridges.
And as if all of that wasn’t enough, many remanufactured cartridges will come with a warranty on them. They’ll also give you the satisfaction of knowing that your company is doing something good for the planet.
Cons of Remanufactured Cartridges
Prior to purchasing remanufactured cartridges for your company’s printers, you should always check to make sure that they’ve been re-chipped. If they haven’t been, this could cause big problems for you once you start using them.
All printer toner cartridges have chips in them that are used to count how many times they’re used. They can use this information to tell you when you’ll need to replace printer toner cartridges.
But when the chip on a remanufactured cartridge hasn’t been replaced accordingly, it can make it difficult for your cartridge to tell when it’s almost out of toner. It’ll sometimes result in it giving you bad info, which could lead to you replacing a cartridge sooner than you need to.
Because of this, remanufactured cartridges could cost you money if you’re not careful when buying them. They might also put you in a position where you’re running out of toner sooner than expected and without extra toner in your reserves.
Refilled Cartridges
Refilled cartridges are similar to remanufactured cartridges in that they’re used cartridges that are filled back up with toner. People will often confuse the two for this reason.
But the main difference between remanufactured and refilled cartridges is that refilled ones aren’t inspected at all prior to being filled back up again. They’re simply refilled without having anything else done to them.
Pros of Refilled Cartridges
It’ll take you about two seconds to figure out the main benefit of buying refilled cartridges. Compared to the other types of printer toner cartridges on this list, they’re incredibly cheap.
If your company is making a concerted effort to save money right now, going with refilled cartridges might be the best way for you to do this. You can’t beat the price tags that appear on these kinds of printer toner cartridges.
Cons of Refilled Cartridges
If you decide to purchase refilled cartridges for your company’s printers, you will appreciate how inexpensive they are. But that might end up being the only thing that you like about them.
Because refilled cartridges aren’t tested before they’re put back on the market, they aren’t always going to work in the way they’re supposed to. They might have worn-out parts in them that will prevent them from doing their jobs.
Refilled cartridges might also start to leak on you as soon as you put them into place in your printers. This is yet another downside of these kinds of printer toner cartridges not being tested prior to being resold.
But the biggest drawback associated with refilled cartridges might just be that they aren’t going to be able to produce high-quality results when you print with them. The age-old saying, “You get what you pay for,” will most definitely ring true when you buy them.
If you can steer clear of buying refilled cartridges, you should try to do it. They won’t usually be worth using in your printers, no matter how cheap they might be.
Which Type of Printer Toner Cartridges Is Right for You?
Now that you know about the four main types of printer toner cartridges, you might know exactly which one you want to use. You might love the idea of using, say, new compatible cartridges in your printers.
But if you’re still on the fence and not sure which printer toner cartridges you want, you should ask yourself a series of simple questions. Your answers should make it easier for you to settle on a specific type of printer toner cartridges.
Here are the questions you’ll want to answer while shopping for printer toner cartridges:
- Which kinds of printers am I going to be using printer toner cartridges in?
- What types of print jobs will I be asking printer toner cartridges to complete?
- How much am I willing to spend on printer toner cartridges for my company’s printers?
- How long would I ideally like for my printer toner cartridges to last?
- Who am I going to trust to provide me with printer toner cartridges?
- How often will I need to reorder printer toner cartridges?
The simple truth is that not all companies are going to benefit from the same types of printer toner cartridges. It’ll be up to you to take a look at your specific situation and decide which toner cartridges will work best for you.
You might even want to go as far as to test out each of the types of printer toner cartridges to see which one is your best option. It’ll settle the debate once and for all and guarantee that you don’t get stuck using the wrong toner cartridges over the long haul.
Pick Out the Right Printer Toner Cartridges for Your Office
At the end of the day, you might not think that choosing the right printer toner cartridges for your office is all that important. But you should know that it will be very important in the grand scheme of things.
The printer toner cartridges that you pick out for your office are going to impact everything from your budget to the overall perception of your company. So you should think long and hard about which toner cartridges you would like to buy.
Interested in reading other articles about the business products that you’ll need to buy on behalf of your company? Find them by looking around at what else our blog has to offer.
Read also: Printing Tips for Beginners: The Basics to Get Started
