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.