In recent years, the demand for laser printers has continued to grow. And more and more people have begun to use laser toners. However, due to the special nature of this industry, printer users know very little about printer toner cartridges.

We have seen a lot of discussions online about original toner cartridges, 3rd-party toner cartridges, compatible and remanufactured toner cartridges. But we found that many users were not very clear about the difference between them. So they didn't know how to choose the right cartridges for their printers. Therefore, we are going to popularize some industry knowledge here. Hope it helps when you choose printer cartridges.

When we want to buy a toner but have several options, we must understand their definitions and differences before we make a buying decision. So, let's understand what original toner cartridges, 3rd-party toner cartridge suppliers, remanufactured and compatible toner cartridges are first.

Original toner cartridges

Original toner cartridges are also called OEM toner cartridges and genuine toner cartridges. They are produced by the original equipment manufacturer of printers. These original cartridges are specially designed for the dedicated printers so they have the best compatibility to printers. For example, HP 414A is the original toner produced by HP printer manufacturer.

3rd-party toner cartridges

3rd-party toner cartridges stand for cartridges manufactured by 3rd party manufacturers instead of original printer manufacturers. 3rd party toner cartridges include compatible, remanufactured and counterfeit toner cartridges.

Compatible toner cartridges

Compatible toner cartridges are also named generic toner replacements. They are produced by professional third-party consumable manufacturers through strict production processes. These cartridges use high-quality raw materials and pass rigorous testing. So their printing quality and compatibility are basically comparable to the original products. In addition, they won't infringe the original patents, nor void your printer warranty. Therefore, more and more printer users purchase compatible black toner and color toner cartridges now.

Remanufacturedtoner cartridges

Remanufactured toner cartridges are also often called refurbished toner replacements. They are also manufactured by professional third-party consumable manufacturers. The main differences between them and compatible ones are the raw materials and production processes. Remanufactured cartridges often use recycled empty original cartridges as the main raw materials. After many times of cleaning, toner refill and testing procedures, they are finally released as qualified products.

Please note that refurbished cartridges does not use all the parts of the original empty cartridges as raw materials. Some damaged parts will be replaced by the brand new to ensure the printing quality. Because of this, the raw material and production costs for remanufactured ink and toner replacements are higher than for compatible ones. So they are also tend to be more expensive. This makes them less popular than compatible replacements.

Counterfeit toner cartridges

Counterfeit toner cartridges are generally produced by small workshop-style factories without necessary production licenses. They are packed with fake original packaging and sold as the brand name products illegally. Their prices tend to be much lower than the OEM cartridges’ prices. But the quality is always very poor, which seriously damages the interests of consumers. Many toner brands like HP, Brother, Canon and True Image have their own anti-counterfeiting technology. Therefore, counterfeit cartridges rarely appear in the market now.

Through the definitions of these types of cartridges, we believe that you can roughly understand their differences. Counterfeit toner cartridges are easy to distinguish. So what is the difference between compatible, remanufactured and original toner cartridges?

Quality

The quality of original printer ink and toner is generally better than that of compatible consumables. This is a fact that must be admitted. Compatible consumables are basically produced according to the standard of original consumables. The quality and compatibility of original consumables have always been one of the main directions of compatible consumables. If you have very extremely high requirements for print quality, original ink or toner cartridges are the first choice.

As for compatible printer cartridges, there are many brands in aftermarket. And the quality is also mixed. But it does mean that there are no 3rd party brands who can provide high quality cartridges. After decades of development, the R&D and production technologies of some top 3rd party manufacturers have become very mature. The quality of their products is almost the same as the original ones. Toner Bank brand products are officially produced by the top manufacturers in this industry. So the quality of our printer cartridge replacements is comparable to the original cartridges. They meet the needs of most printer users.

Remanufactured toner replacements always have the same quality level as the compatibles. Because most remanufactured toners and compatible toners are from same manufacturers. If you love the environment protection and are willing to pay higher prices, you can choose remanufactured cartridges.

However, there are also many compatible and remanufactured consumables whose quality is unsatisfactory in the market. They often have problems such as leaking, streaking, making noise, leaving dots, etc. Therefore, when purchasing compatible ink cartridges and toner replacements, you must choose a toner cartridge supplier with a good reputation and guarantee like Toner Bank. 

It is worth noting that the original brand cartridges will also have quality issues. So after a fault occurs, immediate after-sales service is the most important. Toner Bank has a professional customer service team and dedicated quality inspection department. If our cartridges have any quality problems during the warranty period, we will send replacements or issue refund without asking more questions.

Price

The biggest advantage of compatible consumables is that the price is much lower than the original. They can help printer users saving money.

For example, the original HP 58X toner costs $232.89 each. With high page yields up to 10,000 pages, it can handle high volumes of print jobs. The cost per page of this original toner is about $0.23. It’s much better than the standard cartridges. But it’s still not the best choice when you compare it with Toner Bank CF258X toner replacement. With same page yield and quality as the original, our 58X toner only costs $109.99, which means you can more than a half from each page. The more you print, the more you save. (Our store prices and offers will be changed based on cost changes and holidays. So the prices may vary when you see this article. If you want to receive the latest promotion info, you can subscribe to us. The page yield is calculated according to the coverage of 5% of the international standard A4 paper.)

Compatibility

In terms of compatibility, compatible toner replacements can be compatible with non-own brand printers. And some compatible toners products can even be used in different brands of printers,  which is very convenient for resellers.

While original and remanufactured toners are targeted in corresponding printer models during the manufacturing process. So they can only work with the dedicated name brand printers. For example, Toner Bank CF226A toner is compatible with both HP printers and Canon printers. But original HP 26A laser toner can only work with HP-designated printers. Therefore, compatible consumables are much more versatile than original consumables. More and more resellers and printers users accept compatible printer cartridges.

Faced with this situation, some original printer manufacturers specially indicate that using of non-original consumables will void printer warranty. Users need to pay for the maintenance cost by themselves no matter whether the damage is caused by the use of non-original consumables.

But don't worry. To protect consumers’ rights and warranty, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act clearly defines that the use of compatible and remanufactured printer cartridges does not void your printer warranty. Besides, the quality of compatible cartridges from trusted brands like Toner Bank is vary reliable. As long as you use the cartridges in the printer correctly, they won’t cause any damages to your printer in most cases during the warranty period. Therefore, it’s an inevitable trend that compatible products will be more and more popular.

Comments from Industry Experts

Li Jianmin, general manager of the Digital Information Division of Xerox (China), once said that in countries with more developed IT industries, consumers have more knowledge about printer consumables. So when they decide to buy a certain printer cartridge, they don’t care about if the cartridge is original or compatible. They only care about whose price is more competitive under the same printing quality. This is a concept of rational consumption. Because the price of compatible toner replacement is much lower than the original toners. And the product quality is equal to or even better than the original. The compatible printer cartridges will surely become the new favorite of consumers. (Citation source: Views in "The Competition between Compatible and Original Inkjet Consumables")

His words are not unreasonable. The development of compatible consumables cannot be ignored. Original printer manufacturers are also aware of this condition. So they continue to use patented technologies and other methods to achieve the purpose of occupying a larger market share. However, even if there are many patent barriers, compatible cartridge suppliers will continue to grow and compatible cartridges will be more and more popular. Because with same quality, compatible products will meet customers' need of saving money better.

Jin Mei, director of the Computer Peripheral Equipment Division of Canon, said that the existence and development of compatible consumables in the market itself shows that they have a certain vitality and value of existence. Canon acknowledges that it has played a positive role in promoting the development of the printer market. (Citation source: Views in "The Competition between Compatible and Original Inkjet Consumables")

Therefore, compatible toner cartridges and drum units are your best choice. Please buy and use them with confidence.

Disclaimer: The trademarks, brands, prices, etc. quoted in this article are for illustration only. Toner Bank has no relationship with the original printer manufacturers mentioned in the article.