Save Money! Little things make a big difference! Environmental Policy Remanufactured Cartridge? Triple Bottom Line! People at ALC	Australian Laser Charge has been remanufacturing toner cartridges for well over a decade now. The remanufacturing industry has existed worldwide for almost twice that long and yet very few people understand exactly what a remanufactured toner cartridge is! “Really it can’t be that difficult, you just pull out the plug and pour in more black stuff right”? Wrong! Laser printers are very complex and sophisticated devices (a bit like Formula 1 racing cars), which – if we expect them to work reliably - demand an equally high quality toner cartridge. The car you drive won’t run so well on lawnmower fuel! Toner, like everything else, can vary significantly in price, quality and formulation - they are not all the same. Toners are designed specifically for different laser printer and photocopier models. They have different fusing temperatures, different particle sizes, different additives and more frequently now, many are made up of particles that are chemically “grown” in a laboratory in much the same way an oyster grows a pearl! It is critical therefore that you use the best quality toner available and one that is correctly formulated for your printer. You’ll need to check the oil and water as well... maybe fit new brake pads or a clutch plate. A toner cartridge is full of components (other than toner) that wear and need replacing. Filling it with fresh toner is only the beginning. If you know a little about cartridges then you probably know there is an OPC drum (organic photo conductor) inside but there are also things like PCRs (primary charge rollers), magnetic rollers, wiper blades, doctor blades, recovery blades - the list goes on. Many cartridges are now fitted with microchips to monitor toner levels etc. If these components are not attended to diligently your cartridge (and consequently your printer) will be unreliable and not function as efficiently as it should. And you know retreads aren’t as good (or safe) as new tyres. Aftermarket cartridge component manufacturing is a huge global industry and as in any other field of manufacturing the quality of individual products can vary enormously from brand to brand. The old adage applies here “you get what you pay for”. There are cheap drums and there are expensive drums and this will obviously be reflected in the final cost, that is why there is sometimes such a large variation in cartridge prices. Refilled ones are even cheaper because no parts are replaced at all. So, remanufacturing is a lot like having your car serviced as opposed to just filling it with fuel every time you run out! Now that you know a little more about toner cartridges, next time you are shopping around for one make sure you’re not comparing apples with lemons.