A toner cartridge, also called laser toner, is the consumable component of a laser printer. Toner cartridges contain toner powder, a fine, dry mixture of plastic particles, carbon, and black or other coloring agents that make the actual image on the paper. The toner is transferred to paper via an electrostatically charged drum unit, and fused onto the paper by heated rollers during the printing process.
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Low-end to Mid-range Laser Printers typically contain two consumables parts: the toner cartridge itself (typical life 2,000 pages) and the Drum Unit (typical life 40,000 pages). Some toner cartridges incorporate the Drum Unit in the design and therefore replacing the toner means replacing the drum unit every single time, although some consider this type unessential and therefore not cost-effective.
Toner Cartridges can be expensive, sometimes exceeding the cost of the Printer itself. This is generally only true for cheap Laser Printers; for this reason many people simply dispose of the printer when it is out of Toner and replace the entire machine (Not knowing the machines generally come with toners or inks that are only 1/3 full). Alternatively, consumers can turn to generic brand laser toners that are manufactured by companies other than the printer manufacturer which are widely available at a fraction of the price of the genuine brand replacement. In addition, instead of purchasing a new or compatible toner, one could refill it with the many toner refill kits available.
When considering the number of people that turn to generic brands or replacing the entire printer itself, the business model employed by big printer manufactures can sometimes appear counterproductive: taking a loss on the printer itself and hoping to make the money back on the toner cartridges it consumes throughout its working life.
Genuine - Also known as "Original Equipment Manufacturer" or "OEM" These are manufactured by printer manufacturers. Manufacturers offer certain guarantees when you use genuine brand toner in your printer and makes certain threats if you don't, voiding warranty is a typical accusation made, although in many countries this is illegal. Genuine cartridges are more expensive than refills, compatibles or re-manufactured cartridges, however you can reduce the difference in price dramatically by purchasing cartridges from a specialist retailer.
Compatible - Also known as "Generic" or "Alternative Brand" These cartridges are manufactured from scratch, they are not used cartridges that have been refilled or re-manufactured. They are produced by a third party companies and sold under different brand names. Often compatible cartridges may vary slightly in look, design and page yield to their genuine counterparts due to certain patents that restrict the exact copying of designs. Although some might say these generic cartridges less reliable, they are undoubtedly a cost-effective alternative to the genuine article.
Re-manufactured- A process by which the OEM cartridge is dismantled after the first use. Any worn or defective parts are replaced and the cartridge is cleaned then it is refilled with toner.
Remanufactured, Compatible, OEM and Refilled Toner Cartridges are available from a variety of sources. Several National chain stores offer a variety of toner cartridges ready for pick up. Refilled and remanufactured toner cartridge retailers generally require an empty cartridge in order to refill/remanufacture.
Each brand new toner cartridge requires the burning of over 2 quarts of petroleum in the manufacturing process. In North America alone, more than 200 million litres of petroleum are used to sustain the production of new toner cartridges with the majority of these cartridges ending up in the worlds landfills once empty.
Manufactures have responded by developing recycling programs for their used cartridges. On August 1, 2011 Hewlett Packard issued a press release showing their recylcing process involves a partnership with an asian firm that reuses plastic collected from the empty cartridges.
Advocates of more environmentally friendly processes claim that using refilled and remanufactured toner cartridges are much more environmentally friendly than using brand name new cartridges. Refilled and remanufactured cartridges reduce the dependancy on petroleum that otherwise would have been used in the manufacture process of the new cartridge.
Advocates also claim that the recycling programs devised by manufacturers are not always as environmentally friendly as consumers might think or in comparisson to other options that may be available.
HP's recycling program involves the recycling of cartridges in partnership with a company in Asia. The process uses significant amounts of petroleum in the collection of empty cartridges on one continent and in transporting them half way around the world to be recycled. In this example, walking to your local remanufacturer is certainly more sustainable than the affore mentioned process.
Lexmark also has a similar program which they claim is in place to assure that as many empties as possible are collected and reused. [1] The program is called the "Prebate return program". In their prebate model the toner cartridges are always owned by Lexmark and consumers purchase the right to use the cartridge until empty. Once empty, Lexmark requires that the cartridges are returned to Lexmark. Since the prebate program cartridges are much more inexpensive to purchase from Lexmark, consumers are pushed into choosing those cartridges over the non prebate program cartridges.
Advocates claim that since empty prebate cartridges are "owned" by Lexmark; and since Lexmark expressely forbids the remanufacturing or recycling of the cartridge by anyone other than themselves; and since third party remanufacturers cannot therefore remanufacture the empty cartridges; and since the majority of cartridges are never returned to Lexmark, the result is that the prebate program actually ensures fewer cartridges are recycled and customers are more often required to purchase brand name OEM cartridges.