Rebuilt toner
A rebuild toner is a toner cartridge that has been refurbished.
Rebuilt toners are also referred to as recycled , remanufactured or rebuilt . In contrast to the simple filling with refill toner , with a rebuild toner, wear parts of the cartridges are usually replaced with new parts. Such wearing parts are z. As the magnet roller , the exposure drum or small mechanical parts. It is at the discretion of the rebuild manufacturer whether and which wear parts are replaced. The corresponding processes, together with the compatible toner used for refilling, largely determine the quality of the products. A typical feature of rebuilt toner is the lack of the original brand name on the cartridge. This is melted away with heat or otherwise made illegible.
reasons
One reason for remanufacturing laser cartridges is that many manufacturers of cartridges have protected their products with patents , so that it is not possible to reproduce the original cartridges without infringing the patent. The original manufacturers of cartridges for laser printers are usually identical to the printer manufacturers. They often align their pricing policy to the lowest possible cost price for the devices, while the relevant profits are earned through the sale of consumables.
With rebuilt toners, a compromise is made between resource conservation and quality. Some original manufacturers also offer rebuilt toners in addition to the newly produced toner cartridges. However, original cartridges may also contain recycled components. The range of rebuilt toners is sometimes significantly longer than the original, as the printer manufacturers often do not exhaust the capacity of the toner tanks.
compatibility
Rebuilt toners are mostly made by third-party manufacturers and, depending on the manufacturer and model, may differ from the original specifications. This can lead to various subsequent problems in the printing unit (defective drum / heating rollers, increased degree of soiling) or in the print result (change in print quality). Technical defects and consequential damage that can be traced back to the use of rebuilt toner are generally not recognized by the printer manufacturer as a guarantee. The rebuild manufacturers behave differently in such cases. In some cases, only the sales value of the rebuilt toner will be reimbursed and further claims regarding possible consequential damage in the printer will be settled if possible. Serious rebuild manufacturers, on the other hand, easily accept liability for consequential damage to the device that can be proven to have been caused by their product.
Trade in empty toners
Due to the shortage of empties, the availability of rebuilt toners is often very difficult with newer laser printers. As a result, the prices are sometimes only slightly below those of the original. Older laser printers have sufficient empties and lower demand, so that higher savings can be expected in this segment compared to the original.
Both the manufacturers of rebuilt toners and various sales companies have now specialized in buying empty cartridges. The amount of the compensation for an empty cartridge is usually determined via a purchase price list, which is regularly updated. Other providers do not reimburse returns, but provide e.g. For example, a company is given a free empties box in which all possible printer waste can be disposed of, in the hope that the customer will also dispose of cartridges that can be reprocessed. Defective or already refurbished cartridges are usually taken out of service by the rebuild manufacturers as part of an incoming inspection.
Some toner manufacturers try with so-called return toners (prebate toners) to force buyers to send back the empty cartridges so that they do not reappear as rebuilt toners at other companies and thus compete with the original toner. However, it is practically impossible to check the obligation to return. The question of the legal durability of such an obligation also raises at least fundamental problems.