refilling laser toner cartridges

Little_John

SilverLady wrote:

How terrifying this sounds - not my experience at all. I have a Samsung Laser printer and buy toner from https://www.topinks.co.uk (see previous thread on this subject dated 26-06-2006). Toner comes in 110g bottles costing £7.25 each or 3 for £14.50. Kit comes with filler spout and instructions and involves unclipping plug from end of existing cartridge, pouring in toner and replacing plug. Price of toner may vary between Samsung models, I'm not sure, but I do know that the ML1610 is more difficult, but you can send its cartridge to topinks for them to fill and return to you. This costs around £15 for the toner and postage back to you - you have to pay the initial postage to them

Im only going off my experences with HP carts they are not designed to be refilled and are sealed units so the only way to open them up is by melting the hole, with the chipping of carts now it can be harder to get suposedly empty carts to work again.

SomeOne_2

Just an update:

I transferred the toner from my failed attempt to another completely empty cartridge.
So far no problems with jamming, i'll asume the problem was down to the original cartridge not being completely empty.
The black toner appears stronger than the original one.
I'd be interested to know how the colour toners fare, and what the quality is like for photo prints?

MarkyMarkD

I have a Samsung ML4500 and refilling was very easy.

Mine were from https://www.cartridgeco.co.uk - check their prices too.

mikey-mike_2

I tried it on a HP 4000N cartridge using toner from our photocopier (emergency, needed to print some drawings at 2am)

Cut a hole in the end of the cartridge, pour the toner in and away to go. It worked but the cartridge kept leaking toner, prints had lots of black on the back, some smudges on the front but were readable. I suspect this is down to wrong type of toner (v old photocopier) or me putting too much toner in.

But, given how cheap the cartridges are (got replacement off Ebay, under £20 inc postage) it hardly seems worth the hassle.

One other thought, I THINK they have another compartment where waste toner ends up which presumably would need emptying sometime if you refill multiple times. Anyone know about this?

martindow

I would also recommend refilling Samsung cartridges. It all sounds alarming but if you are careful and refill outside on a calm dry day it is easy and there's no problem. I also find 3 refills is about the limit. I've had faintness of printing happen after that and on one occasion a bit of toner leakage. It's well worth doing - about 10 pounds compared with around 60 for a new cartridge. It seems astonishingly wasteful to throw so much away if refilling is an option. I have also used refilltoner.com. On their web site they have information on how to refill different makes - worth looking at if you are buying a new printer to choose something easy to refill.

fergies_army

As a printer engineer i would really not reccomend re-filling toners .... there is all the usual problems with regards refilling and the damage it can cause to your printer etc etc. However the real reason is the fact that Toner is a carsongenic (is that spelt right?) and also a skin irritant .... saying that it is not as bad as it was but can still be a risk to your health ... hence the gloves and masks supplied with these kits.

Tip if you spill toner ... never wash off with warm water as this will bond it to your skin ... use ice.

angela007_2

samsung toner refills from 4.99
I like these ones asyou get a litl replacement bung that stops leaking..
http://www.zinetic.co.uk/samsung-toner-refill.html

angela007_2

http://www.zinetic.co.uk/instructions/default.aspx

evilgoose

We used to use Panasonic KXP4451 printers - they were awsome!! - they didnt have cartridges they had squeezy bottles with toner in, It was a fowl job to do.

Little to be added to what others have said above.

Toner is TOXIC.
Some people are allergic to it (anaphalatic shock at worst, rash at least).
It gets everywhere.
Wash with cold water at first.
Dont eat or touch mouth until you've washed.

There was a local firm which used to refill the squeezy bottles, I remember my boss telling me that he went to the firm to visit, one of the guys was in a little room filling these bottles with a trowel and a face mask, helooked like a coal miner when he walked. Not good!


**PLEASE PLEASE take the time to send back your old cartridges if you arent refilling - dont throw them in the bin. HP ones used to have paid return stickers/paper in the box to send it back for recycling. Age concern used to collect them for charity. Dont just bin it. thanks.

makintracks

After deliberating long and hard about the need to spend around £50 + VAT on a new toner cartrdige for our Samsung SCX 4216F fax / printer combo unit, I decided to try refilling the cartridge after stumbling on this site - http://www.refilltoner.com/index.htm

I confess that I had never heard about refilling your own toner cartridges before this and did not really think it would work.

My order arrived the very next day, so excellent service. Instructions were clear and easy to follow and the job was done in a few minutes with no fuss or mess. I can really recommend you try this out, but follow the instructions and don't refill to soon after you get the toner low warning as this can cause problems when the different toners mix according to the supplier.

The refill cost £15.99 incl VAT and £2.99 postage (free if you order over a certain amount). A handsome saving and the printer works just fine.

IMHO this should not be done if your machine is still under guarantee or under any kind of maintenance contract, but it is a personal choice. HAPPY REFILLING!