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[philmart72]

So what's the difference between OEM & Recycled toners?? In terms of quality, reliability and value

[sabrina]

@philmart72 sorry for the late reply.

OEM is short for Original Equipment Manufacturer. These are what you would call as genuine or original because they are made by printer manufacturers themselves. For example, HP OEM toner cartridges are manufactured by HP for use in specific HP printer, fax, or copier models.

However, buying OEM printer cartridges can also be disadvantageous because they are the most expensive in the market. In fact, it may cost you more to buy replacement OEM printer cartridges than to get a new printer. Printer manufacturers justify the costs of OEM cartridges by citing that they have invested heavily on technical know-how, expert manpower and technologies to produce high quality printer cartridges.

Remanufactured cartridges are used cartridges that have been cleaned and refilled with toner or ink for reuse. Only the parts or components that are no longer fit for reuse are chnaged.

The main advantage of remanufactured printer cartridges is that these have been remanufactured and produced to give cheaper alternatives for printer brands like HP, Epson, Lexmark, and Okidata which cannot use compatible printer cartridges for legal reasons. Also, these printer manufacturers are known to produce printer cartridges that have complex design. All the printing technology and components like the print head are built within the printer cartridge instead of installing them as parts of the printer. These complex design and technology are copyrighted and cannot be copied or imitated legally.

Patronizing remanufactured printer cartridges also allow you to contribute to the conservation of the environment and to decreasing waste volumes especially in landfills. Instead of throwing away empty or used cartridges, these are refilled for reuse.

However, the main disadvantage of remanufactured cartridges is that they cannot be mass-produced. The volume of remanufactured printer cartridges in the market is determined by the number of re-usable empty or used cartridges. Admittedly, this is not a main problem right now since there are thousands of used printer cartridges being discarded annually.