The TonerParts.com Benefits

At TonerParts, we want you to understand your options and feel confident that you are making the best possible choice for your printers, your budget, and the environment. Below is a clear overview of the main cartridge types and why so many businesses choose TonerParts remanufactured and compatible solutions.

Understanding Your Cartridge Options

There are four main types of toner and ink cartridges in the market. Understanding the differences will help you choose the most suitable option for your business.

1) Original (OEM) Toner and Ink Cartridges

Original cartridges are manufactured by the printer brand itself (for example HP, Canon, Xerox, Lexmark). They are often produced using a combination of new and recycled parts in factories around the world. OEM boxes frequently state that they may contain reconditioned components and recovered materials, but they are still marketed and priced as “original” products.

These cartridges typically cost about double the price of quality remanufactured or compatible products. The term “original” exists largely because the printer manufacturer owns the design patents and can legally prevent other companies from producing brand-new cartridges using the exact same molds and representations.

In some cases more than one OEM brand may serve the same engine (for example, certain Dell printers based on Lexmark or Samsung engines), but the price premium remains similar.

2) Remanufactured, Recycled & Refilled Cartridges

Not all non-OEM cartridges are created equal. Quality depends heavily on the process and components used. Below is a breakdown of the main terms:

Recycled Cartridges

“Recycled” is a broad term. It simply indicates that the cartridge is not brand new and that some parts or materials have been reused. It does not describe the process or the quality standard. Even some OEM cartridges can qualify as recycled because they use recovered components. The label alone tells you very little about performance.

Refilled Cartridges

A refilled cartridge is one where a company has gained access to the toner or ink chamber—by drilling a hole or partially opening the cartridge—and then simply added new toner or ink. Internal wear-and-tear parts such as:

• Magnetic roller (that picks up and distributes toner);
• Photoconductor drum (that forms the image);
• Wiper blade (that cleans excess toner from the drum);
• Gears and internal mechanisms;

are often not replaced. While refilling is inexpensive to perform, print quality and reliability can be unpredictable. Many customers who “tried remanufactured” and were disappointed were in fact using low-grade refilled products.

Compatible or Generic Cartridges

A compatible cartridge is built from all-new parts designed to function in place of the OEM cartridge. Plastics, metals, and internal components are newly manufactured but not made by the original printer brand. A good compatible cartridge is engineered to match OEM performance and page yield at a much lower cost.

Remanufactured Cartridges (Premium Process)

A true remanufactured cartridge starts with an empty OEM shell and rebuilds it using a controlled, step-by-step process:

• Cartridge is completely disassembled;
• All components are inspected, separated, and professionally cleaned;
• A new drum is installed;
• A new wiper blade is installed;
• A new magnetic roller is installed;
• The toner hopper is filled with new toner matched to OEM specifications;
• The toner container is sealed with a pull-out strip to prevent leakage;
• The cartridge is reassembled and test-printed on proper equipment.

In practice, this is a full rebuild using the OEM core as a high-quality base. The choice of parts is crucial: cheap aftermarket components produce cheap results; premium components deliver consistent, professional output.

3) Environment & Sustainability

TonerParts believes you should be free to choose the option that best fits your needs. We therefore offer original, remanufactured, and compatible products. However, for most organizations, high-quality remanufactured and compatible cartridges represent the best long-term solution: they reduce costs significantly and support a lower environmental impact.

Consider these points:

• Using a recycled toner cartridge can reduce a company’s carbon footprint by up to 46%.
• The average office employee prints around 12,500 pages per year and consumes roughly $1,000 in toner.
• A monochrome toner cartridge can be remanufactured on average 3.5 times, spreading the environmental impact of the original manufacturing over multiple lifecycles.

Remanufacturing is not the same as basic recycling. Standard recycling destroys the product to recover raw materials. Remanufacturing keeps the core in use and replaces worn parts, reducing waste and conserving energy and resources.

OEM cartridges are often shipped thousands of miles by sea and truck from countries such as Japan, China, or Thailand. Remanufacturing within the same region where the cartridges are used has a major positive effect on transportation emissions and overall environmental impact.

A high-quality remanufactured cartridge begins with a strong OEM base. A low-grade compatible copy often begins with the cheapest possible base. As an analogy: if you dream of owning a Ferrari but do not want to pay for a new one, would you prefer a genuine rebuilt Ferrari or a completely different car made to look like a Ferrari?

Printer Repairs

Like any machine, laser printers occasionally need service. TonerParts provides printer repair services to businesses throughout the Vancouver Lower Mainland. Our trained technicians can diagnose almost any issue, explain the problem in clear, non-technical language, and complete the repair with minimal disruption to your operations.

For repeat customers, we also monitor the age and condition of devices and will advise you when a printer is approaching end-of-life so you can plan replacements before failures cause downtime.

Printer Sales

In some cases, repairing an older printer is less cost-effective than replacing it. TonerParts offers a selection of new and refurbished laser printers and can recommend models that match your print volume, environment, and existing toner inventory.

We welcome any Vancouver Lower Mainland business looking to purchase a printer. With years of experience across many industries, we know which makes and models perform reliably in different scenarios and can help you make an informed choice.

Talk to Us

To learn more about how TonerParts can reduce your printing costs and environmental impact, call us at (604) 988-5520 or contact our team through our website. We will gladly help you select the right cartridges, repair options, or replacement printers for your business.