In recent years, I’ve noticed a steady increase in the price of printer supplies and a gradual decrease in the cost of the actual printers themselves. With that being said, people are becoming more and more prudent when it comes to buying toner cartridges. Among the leading competitors these days in the printer supplies market is Brother International, which guarantees great value, dependable service and excellent results.

In addition to those reasons mentioned above, Brother remains popular today because their office supplies tend to last longer than expected. This attribute seems to go a long way in the eyes of consumers, especially business offices that constantly do a lot of high-volume printing. And for home users who only occasionally print word processing documents, Brother toner has been known to last even a few years. Given the current state of our economy, toner cartridges with a high-yield and lower cost per page are sure to attract a larger audience.

Similar to many other brand names, consumers have the option of purchasing original equipment manufacturer cartridges (OEM), compatible cartridges, or remanufactured cartridges. Since OEM cartridges are made by Brother themselves, they typically present the fewest problems and deliver the highest quality results. The only downside to OEM cartridges is that they usually come with a higher price tag compared to remanufactured or compatible toner.

Built with recycled components, remanufactured cartridges undergo an extremely thorough process that involves several different steps: disassembling, cleaning, refilling toner, replacing appropriate parts, testing, and repackaging. On the other hand, Brother’s compatible toner cartridges are made by third-party manufacturers, but they use brand new OEM parts. The advantage to purchasing these alternatives is their cheaper price. Some consumers still prefer Brother’s OEM cartridges because they’re often better in the long run, but of course, this is just a matter of personal preference.

For the time being, I’ve only worked with Brother tn-580 toner cartridges and Brother tn-460 toner cartridges, but in general, I’ve heard great things all around about their machines and office supplies. In fact, Brother has emerged as one of the most popular brands for not only printers, but also fax machines, copiers, and label makers. One thing I’ve noticed that might be of value to others is that Brother’s cartridges will actually stop the device from printing as soon as the cartridge is empty, whereas other laser printers let you shake it a bit so you have time to go out and buy a new one. All in all, I must say that I’ve been pretty impressed with the value, reliability, and printed results of Brother toner cartridges.

With the help of laser cartridges, you can save important raw materials, waste and energy. There are a lot of ways you can do this and even recycle laser cartridges.

The environmental battle cry is to “reduce, reuse and recycle!”

You can save important raw materials, waste and energy by using your laser cartridges again. In fact, there are approximately 44 million laser cartridges that are bought every year in Europe. 95% of these laser cartridges in the UK are thrown out after only one usage. Every cartridge has 1 to 2 liters of oil. It also has aluminum and steel. Every time you repeat using these cartridges, you will save these important, non-renewable resources and energy.

Almost all laser cartridges are thrown off in landfill areas. In the UK, the number has already reached 10,000 tons of material every year. The materials in the cartridge, such as plastic and other are non-biodegradable, does not decompose even for many centuries. This means that every time you reuse a cartridge, you can save on waste landfills.

Hence, it is also a good decision to reuse or refill your toner rather than replace them. This can definitely cut down on your toner cost. This is especially true once you cut down on your toner refills.

There are even companies who can provide these services for you.

You can save money by refilling your own printer. You can buy toner refill kits and do the job yourself. Replacing your printer cartridges is a bit expensive. More often, it will cost you more than the price of your printer.

Using a bottle of refill toner can fill your cartridge. It will save you up to 87%. It can be used often as well. You will be able to save more because of these toner refills. Of course, it will also depend on the kind of printer you have. It also varies on how often you need to buy these. Normally, customers can save around 50% on the price of their printer cartridges.

It is good that you can refill fax and photocopier toner cartridges also. Just don’t scrap it, restore it with fresh toner powder and it becomes easy to refill.

Here’s how:

- Just unplug and pour!

In other laser printers, fax machines as well as copiers, refilling toners is as easy as removing the filler plug. It is also as easy as opening the shutter and pouring it in with the latest funnel.

- Just unscrew, unplug and pour!

In other laser printers, before you reach the filter plug, you need to unscrew it first.

- Just melt hole and pour!

Sometimes it’s a bit harder to open the filler hole. With the use of a special tool, you can melt it and open your own filler hole within the cartridge. It only takes a few seconds for the cartridge to become filled.

- It is mess-free and quick.

It takes only few minutes to refill. The kit contains everything you need for a quick, mess-free, professional job. By using the top seals of the funnel towards the bottle, it will be very easy to have the contents poured-in.

Instructions are provided, along with detailed steps for most of the models. It also contains some information on preparing the work surface and handling the powder without mess.

Will it work?

Yes, it does! The advantage of filling this up with powder is that you won’t disturb the inner working of the cartridge.

How often?

A new or remanufactured cartridge will stand for at least another two fills before losing its quality. Those with no imaging drum can last for 5 or more fills.

Does it have good quality results?

Almost all powders are formulated for all models. They are tested and guaranteed, bringing no damage to your printers. The quality should also be the same as when it ran out the first time you filled it.

Thus, you can remain in control of the quality of your print by reusing your cartridges. Cartridge components will degrade in time. You can also decide when the time has come to find a new one. The unused powder can also be used in another cartridge.