Re: ?? Laser Printer Toner Carts?

[The Real Bev]

On 11/24/2014 01:27 PM, Derald wrote:
> Need "best value" recommendations from among:
> OEM;
> Refurbs;
> new generic
>
> What's best value provided that quality and longevity trump price?
> Anybody have actual experience he can relay?

I bought a TN-360 cartridge for my cheap Brother laser printer for
$20-25 in March 2012 from "25 Toner" via Rakuten/buy.com. Still using
it (I don't do much printing) and I'm happy.


--
Cheers, Bev
============================================================
Brian (Talking to crowd): You need to be independent minded.
Crowd: We are! We are!
Person in crowd: I'm not! -- Monty Python

[The Real Bev]

On 11/24/2014 08:12 PM, Derald wrote:

> The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>I bought a TN-360 cartridge for my cheap Brother laser printer for
>>$20-25 in March 2012 from "25 Toner" via Rakuten/buy.com. Still using
>>it (I don't do much printing) and I'm happy.

> Thanks; cheap Samsung here. Seeing refurbs online and nonames
> online $34-40. OEM $77-90 online AWA local B&M (Staples). Same price
> range as the rakuten vendors. Haven't checked local refurbs yet.

The local refiller charges way more than that.

Long ago I bought a cheap Samsung printer and a spare cartridge (not
cheap) at the same time. When it came time to put in the new cartridge
it wouldn't work. Staples was sorry, but the warranty was only a year,
and I'd had it for at least two years.

And the moral of this story is don't buy the cartridge until you're
pretty sure you're going to need it real soon now.

--
Cheers, Bev
----------------------------------------------
"Luge strategy? Lie flat and try not to die."
-- Carmen Boyle
Olympic Luge Gold Medal winner - 1996

[Michael Black]

On Tue, 25 Nov 2014, Derald wrote:

> The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Staples was sorry, but the warranty was only a year,
>> and I'd had it for at least two years.
>>
>> And the moral of this story is don't buy the cartridge until you're
>> pretty sure you're going to need it real soon now.

> Well, I'm getting the 10% warning but I print so little I've no
> idea how long it will last. Have noticed that online descriptions
> incude shelf life. I guess there's a reason, eh? I shall heed the
> warning; thanks.

But maybe her cartridge didn't work because it was faulty to begin with.
Too much time had passed, so they wouldn't cover it. It's no different
from buying something in July, and putting it away until given as a gift
in December, one shouldn't expect to be able to return it after all that
time.

I don't see how laser printer cartridges could go stale. I got my HP 4P
used about 2003 for fifteen dollars. I was printed quite a bit, so I went
through a couple of cartridges. The one that came with the printer was a
third party replacement, yet the page count on the printer was quite low,
leaving me to believe whoever donated it to the Rotary Club that I bought
it from swapped cartridges. I got some life out the cartridge it came
with, then had to buy one. I went with a local place that refurbished
them. I'm sure it was cheaper than buying a new cartridge locally, but I
didn't look deeply into the price. Then I bought a second
refurbished cartridge, from the same place, even got a few dollars off for
bringing back the empty cartridge.

But, the current cartridge has been in there for most of a decade, say
since about 2006 (and maybe 2005). I think the printing is somewhat less
dark than when the cartridge was new, but it keeps on ticking. I have no
reason to believe it's getting stale because it's sat in the printer all
this time.

Michael

[The Real Bev]

On 11/25/2014 05:46 AM, Derald wrote:
> The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Staples was sorry, but the warranty was only a year,
>>and I'd had it for at least two years.
>>
>>And the moral of this story is don't buy the cartridge until you're
>>pretty sure you're going to need it real soon now.

> Well, I'm getting the 10% warning but I print so little I've no
> idea how long it will last. Have noticed that online descriptions
> incude shelf life. I guess there's a reason, eh? I shall heed the
> warning; thanks.

I ordered mine in March because I knew I was going to have to print our
tax returns in April. It may have been starting to print badly, I just
don't remember. I guessed right, though.


--
Cheers, Bev
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
It is just a bicycle. It is not dedication and bugs
in your teeth and dust and rain and mud. It is not
madness and harmony and glory and rhythm. It is not
muscle and flesh and sweat and lycra and wind.
It is just a bicycle. -- Bianchi
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*

[The Real Bev]

On 11/25/2014 11:05 AM, Michael Black wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Nov 2014, Derald wrote:
>
>> The Real Bev <bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Staples was sorry, but the warranty was only a year,
>>> and I'd had it for at least two years.
>>>
>>> And the moral of this story is don't buy the cartridge until you're
>>> pretty sure you're going to need it real soon now.
>> Well, I'm getting the 10% warning but I print so little I've no
>> idea how long it will last. Have noticed that online descriptions
>> incude shelf life. I guess there's a reason, eh? I shall heed the
>> warning; thanks.
>
> But maybe her cartridge didn't work because it was faulty to begin with.
> Too much time had passed, so they wouldn't cover it. It's no different
> from buying something in July, and putting it away until given as a gift
> in December, one shouldn't expect to be able to return it after all that
> time.

The printer itself was flaky -- it jammed and crumpled paper frequently
(I tried several weights) and eventually printed black vertical streaks
more often than not. Product support said it was probably the
cartridge. I swore I'd never buy anything Samsung again, but I changed
my mind. Still, I replaced it with a Brother cheap laser printer which
has never given me a day of trouble.

[The Real Bev]

On 11/25/2014 03:01 PM, Derald wrote:

> Michael Black <et...@ncf.ca> wrote:
>
>>But maybe her cartridge didn't work because it was faulty to begin with.
>>Too much time had passed, so they wouldn't cover it. It's no different
>>from buying something in July, and putting it away until given as a gift
>>in December, one shouldn't expect to be able to return it after all that
>>time.
>>
>>I don't see how laser printer cartridges could go stale. I got my HP 4P
>>used about 2003 for fifteen dollars. I was printed quite a bit, so I went
>>through a couple of cartridges. The one that came with the printer was a
>>third party replacement, yet the page count on the printer was quite low,
>>leaving me to believe whoever donated it to the Rotary Club that I bought
>>it from swapped cartridges. I got some life out the cartridge it came
>>with, then had to buy one. I went with a local place that refurbished
>>them. I'm sure it was cheaper than buying a new cartridge locally, but I
>>didn't look deeply into the price. Then I bought a second
>>refurbished cartridge, from the same place, even got a few dollars off for
>>bringing back the empty cartridge.
>>
>>But, the current cartridge has been in there for most of a decade, say
>>since about 2006 (and maybe 2005). I think the printing is somewhat less
>>dark than when the cartridge was new, but it keeps on ticking. I have no
>>reason to believe it's getting stale because it's sat in the printer all
>>this time.

> My printer is just finishing its original limited quantity
> "starter" cartridge and I think it's a couple of years old. All I know
> about shelf life is that those cartridges I saw online have a clearly
> stated finite shelf life (24 months). I suspect that, as a practical
> matter, shelf life is irrelevant but "technically" the chances of early
> failure from moisture intrusion, oxidation, etc. increase as the unit
> ages in storage.

Given that they come sealed in a mylar bag, attack from outside seems
unlikely.

I seem to remember that you can eke out a few more pages by removing the
cartridge, shaking it and reinstalling it. This may be what we did to
the Xerox machine back in 1994 :-(

--
Cheers, Bev
"It's important to never be arrogant. Especially if you're one
of the little people whose opinion doesn't matter." --Rat

[Michael Black]

On Tue, 25 Nov 2014, The Real Bev wrote:


> I seem to remember that you can eke out a few more pages by removing the
> cartridge, shaking it and reinstalling it. This may be what we did to the
> Xerox machine back in 1994 :-(
>

I've definitely done that. I'm sure I read it somewhere, and when I tried
it, it seemed to even the printing out.

Michael

[21bla...@gmail.com]

bought a Brother TN450 Compatible Toner
for around $15.oo on ebay, or maybe it was Amazon
[don't know if it's Laser]

but i've gotten over 500 b&w sheets out of it,
and still going [non color]

happiest ever with a printer
b&w is the only way to go, IMHO

marc

[tra...@optonline.net]

On Tuesday, November 25, 2014 5:42:09 PM UTC-5, The Real Bev wrote:

You can also refill them yourself. That's what the refurbished ones
are. If you google you'll find videos and other resources that show
how it's done. Typically all you need is the toner powder, a vacuum
and a screwdriver. Essentially it's vacuuming the remaining old stuff
out, partially disassmeblying it to wipe it clean, moving the
reset gear back to the full position, putting it back together, then
pouring the new toner in. It comes in a squirt, ketchup kind of bottle,
so that's easy.

It would probably take an hour to do it the first time, probably 6X that
rate if you were doing one after the other. Been awhile since I did one
and I'd have to revisit the instructions again to get through the first one.

Doing your own is by far the least expensive option.

[The Real Bev]

Sounds like an excellent idea, but I do so little printing that the cost
of the remanufactured cartridge is negligible.

--
Cheers, Bev
11111111111111111111111111111
"To turn is to admit defeat."
-- H. Grierson