What is an OEM Equivalent or Fully Remanufactured/Recycled Inkjet cartridge?

A OEM Equivalent Remanufactured Inkjet Cartridge or Recycled Inkjet cartridge (usually for HP and Lexmark inkjet cartridges) is a previously once used inkjet cartridge that has been fully reconditioned, refurbished then refilled with Ink that matches the original OEM Pigment, Consistency and Color as close as possible, without interfering with any patents or copyrights held by their respective owners. This type of Cartridge Remanufacturing is not to be associated with the “Drill & Fill” operations you might find locally in some of the shopping mall Kiosks etc. these generally use only a few types of inks on many occasions you will see only 6 available colors to fill all cartridge types. Consider that HP and Lexmark use a different ink for almost every printer they make it is simply impossible to find say one black that is compatible with all printer types. You can be almost guaranteed inferior results in terms of print quality and possibly blocked printer heads etc.

Our high quality recycling procedure uses only once used virgin cartridges. They inspect the cartridge for any visual wear and tear if any signs of this are evident these units are then discarded immediately. The cartridges that do pass the initial test will then be drained and flushed with special cleaning fluid the print head will be checked to make sure it is in perfect condition, then print tested before re-packing the cartridge. This procedure is all done using the very latest inkjet remanufacturing equipment, in a controlled manufacturing environment using vacuum fillers, the finest made in the USA ink. The reasons to remanufacture or recycle the cartridges, especially for HP and Lexmark cartridges are two fold: economic and environment issues. Because these cartridges are usually made with built in print heads and the print head is under the protection of the international law of copyright, no compatible cartridges are legally available. In addition, because these cartridges are strictly price controlled by the original manufacturer, the OEM cartridges are relatively more expensive. Certainly, recycling inkjet cartridges also helps the environment by reducing the amount of the garbage saving some of the Earths resources.

What is remanufactured/Recycled Toner cartridge?

An OEM Equivalent remanufactured Laser toner cartridge or Recycled Laser / Toner cartridge (usually for HP, Canon, Brother and Lexmark laser printers) is a previously once used laser cartridge that has been fully reconditioned, refurbished then filled using the finest equivalent laser toner available. A remanufactured Laser cartridge (any brand), means a cartridge that has been completely dissembled, all critical worn parts replaced with new components (i.e. Drum. Blades etc.), then refilled with quality toner powder and test printed.

These replacement cartridges are as good as the OEM cartridges. We supply these cartridges to 90% of our customers, a list of existing customer referrals are available by request. OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and generally refers to the printer manufacturer. All our products are guaranteed and are manufactured to a very high standard. Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed.

Will I get the same No. of pages from your Remanufactured OEM Equivalent Cartridges ?

We guarantee you will get at least the same number of printed pages from our inkjet and laser cartridges as you will get from an original OEM cartridge. Our customers are reporting many, many more pages of print per cartridge over their OEM inkjet cartridges. Most of our Inkjet and laser cartridges are High Yield equivalents. Anything between 10% to 50% more pages is quite normal.

What is compatible cartridge?

A Compatible cartridge is a product manufactured by third parties other than Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). OEMs are brand name companies such as BROTHER, CANON, DELL, EPSON, HP, LEXMARK, SAMSUNG, XEROX, etc. The compatible product functions just like the OEM in every way. The major difference is the price, you can save up to 70% using compatible cartridges as a replacement of OEM cartridges. For some compatible cartridges, the color may be slightly different from the OEM, but on a whole the quality of output you can expect from a compatible printer cartridge is superb. Some monitor and printer calibration may be required for accurate color profiling. This is just the same as the Original OEM cartridges, they too require monitor, printer, scanner calibration to print accurately what is on screen. As with the OEM additional reprographic software such as Best software may be required of the discerning graphic artists amongst us.

Would the use of a compatible or OEM equivalent remanufactured inkjet or laser toner cartridges void the printer warranty? …. NO

Under US laws, Magnusson-Moss Warranty Federal Commission Improvement Act (Subparagraph C, section 101), it is prohibited for the manufacturer to void the warranty if the user use compatible and remanufactured cartridge. Canadian customers are protected under the section 77 of Canadian Competition Act.

Tips for inkjet cartridge

1) Do not let you inkjet cartridges dry out. If you are going to go on vacation for an extended period the Ink Cartridge left in you printer may dry out. Think of it just like leaving the lid off a paint tin, eventually the ink will thicken and cause blocking to your print-heads. Take the time to remove these cartridges before you leave. Make sure you follow the instructions provided by your original printer maufacturers manual before you do this. Wrap them in plastic food wrap then place then in a Zip-Lock plastic bag until you arrive back. This way they can be re-installed once you arrive back. 

2) Cleaning Cartridges:

It would be a good practice to use cleaning cartridge, if available, to "wash the print head in between changing the inkjet cartridges. Even if you are using OEM cartridges, it would keep your printer head and general printers performance in tip top shape. Make sure you follow the instructions provided by your original printer maufacturers manual before you do this.

3) If you do suffer from Clogged Printer Heads:

In some occasions it is impossible to avoid clogged inkjet cartridges. On many occasions, those cartridges with built in print heads like most the HP and Lexmark range can be unblocked by the following steps:

Water Based Ink Cartridges:

Remove the cartridge, make sure you follow the instructions provided by your original printer maufacturers manual before you do this. Then taking it to a utility sink, making sure not to get any ink on either you or your property while in transit. Find some paper kitchen towel, make sure this is to hand at all times. Fold a few sheets of paper towel and dampen the center of the towel with warm water, do not use tap water…use bottled or mineral water. Press the dampened towel on an old news paper to avoid spills. Take the blocked printer cartridge and dab the printer heads into the moist paper towel. Leave it there soaking for a few minutes. This should result in a capillary reaction sucking warm water through the printer heads assisting the clearance of old dried out ink. Your aim is to dissolve any old residue and ink before re-installation. Once you see all colours showing on the damp paper towel then you should be OK to try the cartridge back in your printer. Make sure you dry the printer heads off with a clean paper towel sheet before re-installing the cartridge. You may have to go through this exercise a number of time if your cartridge is badly blocked.

Pigment / Oil Based Ink Cartridges:

For some oil bases pigment inks you may have to use isopropyl alcohol instead of warm water. (follow above ink cartridge maintenance instructions)

4) Cleaning My Printer ?

Most people are unaware that they have to maintain their printers on a regular basis to ensure consistent print quality. On most printer models you will notice that when you change ink cartridges or when you first turn your printer on the printer goes through what is known as a Print Head Cleaning Procedure. For the life of your printer this will happen hundreds of times. You may not have noticed that while this automatic head cleaning and alignment is taking place that old ink and paper residue is being dumped into a holding bin usually a small plastic container situated towards the right hand side of the printer under the lid. This is where your printer head sits while parked and not in use. If this Ink Dump Area gets over loaded, or generally un-maintained instead of cleaning your printer cartridges is does quite the contrary, it clogs them up with old ink and paper dust, a sticky residue almost like a Crude Oil blocks the tiny pores in your fragile print head and results poor printed output which shows print banding or print discolouration. In severe cases complete print-head blockage has been noted.
The Solution, maintain your printer by cleaning the Print Dump Container and the Cartridge Parking area. Use an cotton bud ear cleaner and some Isopropyl alcohol. Make sure that you remove as much old ink as you can, but before doing anything make sure that all electrical power has been switched off and that you are working in an environment suitable for the job in hand.

5) How much Ink is in my cartridge? ... Beware !

Unlike most resellers we publish on our website most of our cartridges ink capacity or expected page yields. Be warned many original HP and Lexmark OEM cartridges are low yield products and are not full when you buy them, HP cartridges usually ending with a "D" in the code offer a lower page yield than those showing an “A” as the last reference letter. These “D” cartridges have less ink and although slightly lower price are only good for users who print not very often. However, these cartridges are in full tank when they are remanufactured / recycled. If in doubt before you buy email us at sales@cartridgestore.ca

LEXMARK: They generally have two or three different versions of each cartridge Moderate is Very Low Yield, Standard is Average Yeild and of course High Yield is your best value. All our Lexmark OEM Equivalent Recycled cartridges are High Yield. see chart below: this information was supplied by Lexmark. We supply the full range of both OEM original Lexmark & HP Printer cartridges and alternative OEM Equivalent High Yield recycled cartridges.

Tips for extending the life of your laser toner cartridges:

1) When your printer has a signal saying the toner is low, it is still possible to print for a little while, take the toner cartridge out and shake it horizontally and then put it back. It may help to print a while.

2) Some toner cartridges are available in high yield model, which can provide 30% to 100% more output. It would save even more if using remanufactured high yield toner cartridges. Most of the Laser Toner Cartridges that the www.cartridgestore.ca sell are high yield cartridges.

3) Toner cartridges can be stored for up to 2 yrs in normal room temperature without any problem.

IMPORTANT! All the information shown on this page has been provided as a general guide. Feel free to use our hints & tips, but at your own risk. Be careful when working with electronic equipment, do not use water or other fluid around electrical equipment. Please consult an expert if you are unsure in any way before tampering with your printer. All trade marks are acknowledged.