Ink and Toner Info

Clogged ink cartridge

Business is about finding opportunity and taking full advantage of it. One of the greatest business opportunities in today’s market is the remanufacturing of ink and toner cartridges. It is an industry that is emerging, environmentally friendly, and best of all profitable.

The biggest challenge the ink and toner remanufacturing industry faces is operators who are out for a quick buck. In order for the remanufacturing industry to gain full acceptance and trust, it needs entrepreneurs who are committed to operating ethically and producing a quality product. If you are someone who wants to build a business based on quality of product and service, you should consider the remanufacturing industry. Here are just a few things to think about before you dive in head first.

There are three kinds of support you will need Business, Technical, and personal.

Business-Accounting, Dealing with the government, employees, vendors, finance, incorporation, you name it; business has many facets. Do your homework before starting any venture. Make sure you have a business plan that outlines what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. Any business project can seem overwhelming. There are many fantastic resources that can help you through. Take advantage of the SBA and local chambers of commerce. These organizations want to see strong local businesses and can help you take full advantage of all help available.

Technical-Just as technology advances with software and computers, printing technology advances as well. Every year, there are new brands of printers and cartridges. If you start an ink and toner business you will need a way to keep up with the latest changes and remain profitable.

Personal-Like any other business, this will have peaks and valleys. When you hit the low points, it is helpful to have someone or something you can turn to keep your mind on the business and give you guidance on what to do next.

One thing you will need to do is learn how to sell. You can be the best ink and toner technician in the world, but that means nothing if you cannot sell your product. If you don’t care for sales, I recommend a partner who can is comfortable with sales or design your business with some type of sales supports system. Sales are the life blood of any business. Selling is a learnable skill. If you are one of the many that is uneasy with sales, there are many books and seminars that can help. Just remember that as long as you are being ethical, there is no wrong way to sell: There are only ways that are more effective than others. You will discover the most effective techniques with experience. Finding a good sales mentor will really speed this process.

This world needs entrepreneurs. It also needs Ink and Toner remanufactures that operate quality, ethical businesses. It is true that there are no guarantees in business, but there is plenty of opportunity: The ink and toner remanufacturing industry is a great one of those.

If you have questions about the Ink and Toner Remanufaturing Industry, I will be happy to answer what I can.  Just find my Email in the “Contact Me” section of the blog.

When I last searched for internet articles about compatible and remanufactured ink and toner cartridges there was no shortage of articles on why you should buy recycled cartridges over OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture or “name brand.”)  In my experience of selling Compatibles, Remans, and OEM I have come to one basic conclusion; No matter what type of cartridge people buy, they just want the thing to work.  Rarely are they interested with the whys and how’s.  With this in mind, here are some of the basic questions I’ve been asked about compatibles and remanufactured cartridges.

Will they void my warranty?

(Disclaimer: I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice.)

Using properly remanufactured or compatible ink and toner cartridges will not void you warrantee.  Some salesmen may claim it does, but the Supreme Court of the United States disagrees with them.  The courts have found that manufactures of printers requiring the use of their own brand of ink or toner cartridges is in violation of The Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts.  For more information check out: Unites States Code Annotated, Title 15 Commerce and Trade, Chapter 50 Consumer Product Warranties 15, section 2302.

How many times can cores be refilled?

Ink may be able to be refilled several times, Toners usually once or twice.  With toner it is important to realize that certain pieces should be replaced when it is rebuilt.  It is unwise to reuse drums and some other parts.

How much can I save?

Usually somewhere between 30% to 50% off the average OEM price depending on what type of cartridge you have.

Are all compatible and remans the same?

No.  There are reputable refillers/remanufacturers and then there are “boiler room” operations.  Here an old adage rings true, “you get what you pay for.”  I have a client that wanted ten toner cartridges refilled.  The cartridges had seen better days.  For each one he was looking at a $42 rebuild. (The OEM’s cost $99.00 each at our local big box store.)  His face dropped when he learned the price.  He told me “I got a guy the next town over who can do these for $12.00 each!”  I told him if he could get these rebuilt for $12.00 he had better take it.  He came back a few months later.  He bought one of our rebuilds and asked if there was someone who could repair his printer.

How can I know I’m getting a quality product?

If you are going to a refiller or remanufacturer, ask two questions

1.  Do you guarantee your work?

2.  Will you take back my empties?

The answer to both of these questions should be yes.  Any reputable remanufacturer or refiller should be willing to refund your money or replace the cartridge.  They should also be confident enough in their own materials to reuse them again.

I hope this answers any questions you have about using compatibles or remanufactured ink and toner.

Recycling Ink and toner cartridges: The Big Picture:

Like anything else worthwhile, recycling is a habit that we must incorporate in our daily lives.  It is very easy to simply throw items away when that pesky recycling bin isn’t conveniently located close to our desk.  We have to consciously cultivate a habit of recycling.  Many find that easier to do when they understand how their actions affect the “Big Picture” as well as their own wallets. Here are some facts about recycling ink and toner cartridges that may surprise you.

• There are about a billion toner and inkjet cartridges shipped through the world in a year’s time.
• One laser toner cartridge takes approximately one gallon of oil to produce
• Each laser cartridge puts over two pounds of plastic in a landfill.
• Ink and toner cartridges put on a landfill today will still be here 450 years from now.  In other words, if the pilgrim had a printer cartridge when they came over on the Mayflower, that cartridge would still be around today.
• 70% of users throw away their cartridges
• Over 300 million ink and toner cartridges are thrown away in the United States each year.  That is about one for every man, woman, and child in the United States.
• Remanufacturing toner cartridges can save over 11 million gallons of oil per year.
• Recycling ink and toner cartridges can keep over 120 million tons of waste out of landfills each year.
• Buying a remanufactured ink or toner cartridge is usually 30% to 50% less than buying an OEM or name brand cartridge.  That’s significant considering that many OEM can cost upward of $30.
• With today’s technology, remanufactured ink and toner cartridges deliver the same quality as OEM cartridges.  There have even been instances of superior quality and page yield.
• Refillers and name brand manufacturers know that cartridges can be refilled and restored at a much lower cost than it took to originally produce them.  That is why they offer credit for cartridges returned and include prepaid postage envelopes so you can send the cartridge back to them.

So not only is recycling your ink or toner cartridge good for the environment, it is good for your finances.  Recycling ink and toner cartridges just makes sense.  Don’t throw that cartridge away.  Set it aside for your next trip to town and stop by your local ink and toner refill specialists and see what credit you can get. You will also be surprised to learn how much less it is to use a remanufactured cartridge for your printer.  Most big box stores will offer credit as well.  If nothing else, use the postage paid envelope that is in the box.  It’s the right thing to do.

Printing is expensive.  Who would have guessed that it would cost so much money to put black and colored marks on a piece of paper? The cost of printing has grown so much over the years that it has spawned an entire refilling industry across the globe.  Whether you are using remanufactured, compatible, refilled, or name brand (OEM to you technical types) there are a few things you can do to ensure that you are getting the most for your printing dollar.

1.  Look at your price per page. This is probably the most important thing you can do when determining how much you will spend on printing.  It is simply the price of your print cartridge (inkjet or toner) divided by the page yield of that cartridge.  (Every cartridge has a number of pages that a customer can reasonably expect to get out of it.  This is what is known as the “page yield” Most manufactures and reputable refillers define a page as 5% coverage of a sheet of standard 8 1/2 inch by 11 1/2 inch paper.  So, if an inkjet has a page yield of 200, you may expect it to print 200 pages at 5% coverage.) If that cartridge cost $15.00 and has a page yield of 200, your cost per page is $15.00/200 pages= $.075 or seven and a half cents per page.

Is this a good deal?  It depends.  How much printing do you do?  If you only print a few pages a month, a low price-low yield cartridge is plenty.  If you are a small office or do a lot of home printing, you probably want to look for a cartridge with a higher page yield but lower cost per page.

As a general rule ink is more expensive per page than toner.  Most monochrome black toners cost less than two cents per page while black ink can run five cents per page or higher.  Some of the newer inkjet models claim to lower that cost dramatically.

2. Make sure you got all you paid for out of your cartridge.  Computers are notorious for the “warning..Ink low “message.  More often than not, there is still plenty of ink or toner left in the cartridge.  Always judge if your cartridge is empty by the print quality of the page, not our computer’s warning.

3. “Tap” your toner.  When the print quality of your toner starts to fade, be sure that you “tap” your toner.  Toner is a dry powdery substance that likes to stick to the wall and crevasses of the toner cartridge.   Firmly tapping on the front of the cartridge (where most brands have their label/logo) will dislodge much of the stuck toner.  I have opened many “empty” toner cartridges only to find that they had lots of printing left in them.

4.  Make sure your ink cartridge isn’t just clogged.  Ink has a shelf life.  It will clog up (just like an ink pen) if it isn’t used.  There are simple ways to unclog these.  Most reputable refillers will take care of these free of charge.  If you don’t have a refiller in your area, just try to blot it with distilled water.

Following these tips will help you keep your printing costs low and more money in your pocket.

Ink and Toner Terms Defined

In the past few years, the ink and toner industry has grown dramatically. When industry expands, so does it’s “shop speak” and all around vocabulary.  If you are in the market to buy or sell ink and toner but your research has yielded some terms you don’t understand; take a look at the list below. Although these are not “according to Webster” definitions, there should be something to help you out.

• Cartridge: The device that contains ink or toner
• Empty Core: An empty ink or toner cartridge
• Virgin Core: An empty ink or toner cartridge that has never been refilled or remanufactured.
• OEM: Original Equipment Manufacture (This refers to any name brand cartridge manufactured under a company’s brand for their own brand of printer.  Some companies that manufacture their own line of printers also make compatibles for their competitor’s line.  It is important to note that even though you may be buying a name you recognize, you may not be buying an OEM)
• Tricolor:  An Ink jet cartridge that contains three ink chambers distributed through one print head.  The colors are yellow, cyan (blue), and magenta (red).  These three colors are used to make all other colors.
• Compatible: this is a cartridge that is manufactured to similar specifications as an OEM. In other words a “generic” brand cartridge.
• Remanufactured (aka reman): This is when an empty core is used to completely rebuild the cartridge.
• Print head: Part of an inkjet system that applies ink to the paper
• Sponge: type of inkjet cartridge that contains ink in one or more sponges.  Print heads are usually included on sponge type cartridges.
• Tank: Type of inkjet cartridge that only contains ink inside a bag.  The bag is punctured when placed inside the printer.  Print heads are installed separately with tank type cartridges.
• Refill:  The process of replacing ink or toner in an empty cartridge.  It is not necessarily the same as a remanufacture.
• Monochrome: A printer that gives copies of only one color, usually black.
• Ink: Liquid marking substance based on dyes or pigments.
• Toner: A dry, powdery, magnetic marking substance.
• Standard:  Type of ink or toner cartridge that is expected to yield a normal number of pages.
• High yield: Type of toner or ink cartridge that is expected to yield an extended number of pages.
• Page: An 8 1/2” x 11” piece of paper at 5% coverage.
• Laser Jet: A printer system that uses a laser to write an image on a drum.  Laser Jets use toner.
• Ink Jet: A printer system that marks by applying ink.

There are a few more terms, but these should be the ones you run into most often.  Good luck in your research!

Have you ever put a new cartridge in your ink jet printer only to find that it puts out unintelligible marks and lots of blank space?  This is a common enough problem when dealing with ink, especially if the cartridge has sat for a long period of time.  Most ink jets have expiration dates somewhere on the box.  Conventional wisdom puts the shelf life of an ink jet at one to two years depending on the make and brand. Some brands may keep longer.

All of us at one time or another has dealt with an ink pen that has clogged up.  To get it flowing again, all we do is force write on a paper until the ink starts to flow. Just like the ink pen, the ink jet cartridge has stopped up.  All we need to do is to get it flowing again.

This problem usually occurs in “sponge type” ink jet cartridges.  These are the ones that have print heads incorporated into the cartridge.  The print head is where most clogs occur. There are a couple options for getting the ink flowing again.

1.  Go to a reputable ink/toner refiller in your area.  They should be able to tell you by the weight of your cartridge is there is still plenty of ink in it.  If you are very familiar with your printer, you should be able to judge by the “feel” of the cartridge as to whether or not it still has ink.  Most refillers have print head cleaners and or a high pressure water stream that can free the clog in a matter of a minute or so.  Many reputable refillers will provide this service free of charge.

2.  If there is no refiller in your area, all is not lost.  Simply get a paper towel and some distilled water.  Press the print head in a firm rocking motion on the wet spot of the paper. Change positions on the wet spot, using more paper towels if necessary until you see the ink in a solid straight line.  If you are doing a black cartridge you will see a single black line.  If you are doing a color cartridge you will see three lines; blue, red, and yellow (cyan, magenta, and yellow for you technical types.) This procedure is called ‘blotting.”  Blotting may take a few minutes depending how tough the clog is.

Many have asked me if it is OK to use normal tap water for a blot.  Can you use tap water….yes it will work.  Should you use tap water…in my opinion no.  Tap water is hit and miss from one community to the next. You will find different impurities that may react with the print head and cause you a few printing problems down the road.  Distilled water is safer and easily available.  I recommend sticking with that.

Some inkjet cartridges cost upward of thirty dollars or more.  Don’t buy a replacement just because you have a clogged ink jet cartridge.  Use these simple steps to save you some cash and a trip to the store.