Recharge Your
Own Toner Cartridges!
Just as with ink cartridges, most toner
cartridges can be easily and successfully refilled and re-used, provided
that you have the proper toners and tools. One toner powder is not
necessarily the same as the next, so first and foremost when recharging
your own toner cartridges is to use the proper toner with the proper
toner cartridge. To help you find the toner that you need for your
specific laser machine, we carry a large number of different
formulations of toners for both monochrome and color laser printers,
laser copiers and laser faxes.
Once you have the proper toner at hand,
you can turn your attention to the appropriate method for recharging
your particular toner cartridge. In general, toner cartridges fall into
one of four categories, based on how you recharge them.
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Popular laser models using the
Unplug/Uncap recharging method
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Method #1: Unplug or Uncap
Some toner cartridges have an easily
accessible plug on the outside that leads directly to the toner hopper
(the toner hopper is the chamber that stores the as yet unused toner
powder). In many cases, simply removing the toner hopper plug/cap and
pouring in new toner will do the trick, though in some cases there will
be a fuse, chip or other mechanism to reset. The unplug/uncap method
applies to the most popular Brother toner cartridges, a small number of
color Lexmark toner cartridges and a goodly number of monochrome and
color toner cartridges from Okidata.
Method #2: Melt a Hole
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Popular laser models using the
Melt a Hole recharging method
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With quite a few toner cartridges from
Canon and HP and some older ones from Lexmark and IBM, there either is no toner hopper plug, or the plug is
largely inaccessible unless the toner cartridge is disassembled to a
large extent. While some may relish the idea of taking apart their toner
cartridge and seeing the laser "guts" inside, most small
office and home users just want to add more toner and print away. To
accomplish this, we have developed a special tool to melt a precise hole
in the plastic wall of the toner hopper, through which new toner can be
funneled. When done, simply re-plug the hole with our specially-sized
orange plugs.
The refilling tool comes in a kit with plugs,
a funnel, and
instructions. Click here for more information on our toner hopper
tool kit.
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Popular laser models using the
Remove Endplate method
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Method #3: Remove Endplate and
Unplug
This toner cartridge recharging
category is very similar to the unplug/uncap method, except that the
toner hopper plug is hidden behind one of the toner cartridge's
endplates. In most cases, the endplates are held in placed by one or
more screws (generally not more than four): remove the screw(s) and the
endplate comes off, revealing the toner hopper plug underneath.
The next step is then to funnel in new
toner, replug the hopper and re-attach the endplate. Some toner
cartridges in this category also require that a chip or fuse be
replaced, but in most cases we have replacements already available.
Method #4: Remove Top of Toner Hopper
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Popular laser models using the
Remove Top of Hopper method
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The toner cartridges in this category
are less common than the other three categories, but are refilled in a
way that is very similar to the "Remove Endplate and Unplug"
toner cartridges, except that there is no plug to worry about. With
these toner cartridges, the top of the cartridge is also to the top of
the toner hopper -- some people refer to this toner cartridge style as
having "open toner hopper" structure. After removing the top
of the toner hopper, simply pour your new toner directly into the toner
hopper chamber. When done, reattach the top of the toner cartridge.
Other laser printing and toner recharging
articles: