Refilling toner cartridges?

[MikePro]

Curious if anyone has had any experience with this and some insight to potential pitfalls I should avoid if I do go this route:

For half the price of a single toner cartridge replacement, I can have 4 refills and chips to reset my current toner cartridges. That being said, I'm debating giving this a go on my konica magicolor 7450.

Money saved, "eco-friendliness", and solidifying my DIY mentality are at the top of my reasons why to do this BUT I do understand there's a reason why we ALL don't do this ourselves already: fine powder, big mess, hazardous, damage to machine if not done right, etc... I do intend to take the necessary precautions (painter's suit, goggles and respirator) and the kit comes with instructions boasting "easy-2-do".

guess I'm just looking for any major reasons, that I haven't thought of yet, to make me step back from the cliff before taking the plunge

 

[Techman]

it will work about 3 times. then the toner drum will lose its power. Or the wipers will start to fail.

 

[MikePro]

aye, I don't plan on trying to re-use the drum... as I get all I can out of it, as is, by bypassing the expired drum alerts when printing. Now that it won't let me do that anymore, i simply bought a new one, finally.

its mainly the toner cartridges that I'm trying to cut corners with. Seems like a heck of a lotta plastic/components to simply throw away when there's an inexpensive option to refill and re-use. I may even just refill twice, rebuy new, refill twice, and repeat down the line if this works out and carries me down the line eventually to a new printer. (spending $200 in hopes of saving approx. $500 by attempting to refill a set, this could essentially pay for a new printer in a few years)

 

[slipperyfrog]

I do this all the time for our Dell & Canon color lasers. My Dell 3110cn is on it's 5th fill. The Canon 8050 on its 4th. Have not had any problems to speak of. When we do I'll swap out to new (used empty) cartridges I have sitting from before.

JUST DON"T SPILL THE TONER. LOL. It can be a mess.

I have been very happy with the company I get the toner and reset chips from.

http://fillserv.com/

 

[VTSigns]

I just sold our other business last April which was an ink and toner refill business so I know the ins and outs of refilling toners. Refilling a toner isn't all that hard if you have the right tools and you know the correct procedures for taking the cartridge apart and putting it back together. It is rather time consuming if you do it correctly. A lot depends on what you expect from the refill. If you are hoping to get high quality prints from a toner cartridge you refill in house then you are deceiving yourself. If you simply want to print invoices and other miscellaneous documents and quality isn't super important than give it a try. I'm certain you could find instruction online for your particular cartridge, maybe even a youtube video. There are several important parts in a toner cartridge that will need to be replace eventually (mag roller, pcr, developer blade, doctor blade, drum, wiper blade, ect) in order to assure a good quality refill. I wouldn't delve into it if it were me. It's very messy and can eat up a lot of time. If you are looking for a cheap toner source then check out tonerpirate.com. Our company used them as a wholesale source (even though they aren't wholesale) and their prices are very inexpensive. Hope this helps.

 

[MikePro]

how badly does refilling toner affect the quality and why?
I can imagine maybe a slight color difference, as one would see using 3rd party inks on wideformat solvent printers... but to the point that my photo-quality printer can now only produce invoices?

 

[VTSigns]

Refilling toner does not affect the quality if done correctly. I'm not saying refilling is a bad option. if done right its a great option. I'm just saying it has to be done correctly in order to get a good result. All the parts listed within the toner will need to be replaced at some point in order to keep the quality of the prints looking good. Cleaning of the toner and its parts is a vital process when refilling as well. There are several different toner types as well. Some have a total separate drum unit which changes things a bit. Some cartridges have the toner and drum unit all as one. Cartridges that have a separate toner unit are typically easier to fill. Just give it a try. You might find it easier than you think and the results just might work for your needs.

 

[MikePro]

DID IT! Apologies for the late conclusion to this thread, but it took almost TWO WEEKS for my Imaging Units to arrive despite paying the extra $$$ for expedited shipping.
(expedited shipping still doesn't stop the company from sitting on your order for a week prior to shipment!)

anywho, the process was really simple. the only thing that bothered me about it all was that I had to cut holes into the toner cartridges... BUT a torch-heated Xacto blade carved through these puppies like butter! In the end, $185 refill kit beat the heck out of $700 in new toner cartridges hands-down!
pic 1: refill kit

pic 2: first print (FREAKED ME OUT! Black & White print had me worried that I screwed up!)

pic 3: second print (PERFECT!)

apologies for lack of process pictures, but I went all OCD on filling-up my toner cartridges once they came in the mail. Total time to fill 4 cartridges, approx. 1 hr.
But really, all it took was to cut a 3/4" hole into the top of the toner cartridge (melted-cut with a hot blade to avoid plastic particles falling into the toner chamber), filling with toner, covering the hole with masking tape, and swapping the chips that came with the kit.