Does it really work?
OK, we admit it, we have a vested interest in spreading the belief that this works, so obviously you can't take our word for it. Instead, why not read what some of our customers say?
Read what our customers say
How many times can I refill?
With one or two exceptions as explained below, we hereby put our corporate neck on the chopping block and say the rule of thumb is THREE STRAIGHT REFILLS – AND MAYBE THEN SOME.
To be
exact, it depends which cartridge you’ve got and many will tolerate
more than three refills. In addition, you can think about emptying the
waste or changing the drum to get more out of your cartridge. But
bearing in mind that "straight" means doing nothing else
except pouring more toner in, almost all are covered by "three
straight - and maybe then some".
A random soak test on the HP5L/6L/AX cartridge printed perfectly until half way through the SEVENTH refill.
With the HP4 cartridge, we think THREE straight refills are about the limit before you’ll have to think about emptying the waste if you want to carry on.
We find that, like electric light bulbs, some cartridges give up the ghost early while others live to be granddaddies.
Exceptions
Some users have said that waste overflow happens half way through running the second refill for the Canon E30. In the case of the Epson Action 1500, it’s been said that the waste can fill up towards the end of the FIRST refill. It’s hoped that shaking the cartridge with the waste compartment facing upwards as in the new instructions will help this problem. But in any case, you can empty the waste to eliminate this problem completely.
That leaves the Canon PC10-25 and the Minolta SP101 cartridges as the only true dark horses: you can't empty the waste on these ones and we think you'll be lucky to get three refills.
The instructions that arrive with your starter kit go into more detail about waste overflow, especially if it’s a real threat for your particular cartridge.
Are all toners the same?
This is a bit like asking, "Are all fuels the same?". They all do more or less the same job in more or less the same way, but if you tank up your Ferrari with paraffin, you can forget burning rubber at the next traffic lights. The same applies to toners and printing.
Will I get the same
number of prints?
Other things being equal, the weight of toner powder determines the volume of output. The weight of toner supplied in our bottles follows accepted industry practices for each cartridge. There are one or two exceptions to this that arise because of technicalities of refilling. For example, try as we might, we couldn't get a complete fill of toner into the LaserJet 4000 cartridge without making an almighty mess. So we took the decision to reduce the amount of toner supplied to give a trouble-free refill experience. We also reduced the price accordingly. And in any case, this is the exception rather than the rule.
Will the quality be as good?
|
We’re confident enough to do all the company’s printing on LaserJet 5Si cartridges refilled with our own "melt & pour" method. That includes our mail order catalogue which is sent to all customers and prospective customers.
|
|
Starter Kits get you going
With our starter
kits, you’ll hit the ground running. They have full instructions, a bottle of
toner, the melting tool (if applicable) and any bits and pieces special to your
cartridge (if applicable). Once you know how to do your cartridge you don’t
need another starter kit. Just keep refilling with bottles of toner.
Wot? No downside?
So DIY refilling is all lightness and joy then? Er, well few things this side of the mortal coil are perfect, so in the interests of a balanced view, here are some of the issues which our ads don’t mention (ahem, purely for lack of space you understand).
Drums eventually take a beating
The OPC drum is a rotating cylinder where the toner image is formed before it’s forced to jump across onto your piece of paper. No drum is everlasting, but it can be surprising how long they’ll go on. In that now legendary soak test with an AX cartridge (HP 5L/6L), the OPC was still going strong after eleven refills (something else had already gone wrong during refill number 7, but the OPC was still going strong after 11).
For some cartridges, as shown in the price list, replacement drums are available. There are other machines where the drum unit is replaced independently of the toner and so drum life isn’t a factor in refilling. Examples of these are the Brother HL630, Epson EPL5500, Sharp Z Series copiers and the smaller Xerox copiers.
Waste not, want not?
Most cartridges (but to be precise, not all of them) collect their own waste toner as they print. If you just keep on refilling and refilling, then eventually the waste will fill up. When the waste gets jam-packed, the cartridge can’t clean the OPC drum anymore and so grey "skid marks" start appearing on your prints.
Waste overflow is more likely in some cartridges than in others. It depends on the size of the waste compartment – no surprises there then. The only cartridges we know of where our "three straight refills" are under threat are the E30, PC, SP101 and Epson Action Laser 1500. In all of these except the PC, waste overflow can be dealt with by emptying the waste. You simply melt a hole in the waste compartment and tip it out.
In contrast to the E30, we refilled our first HP5L/6L cartridge eleven times with no sign of waste overflow – that’s not a misprint, we did say ELEVEN TIMES. In fact for many cartridges, it’s more likely that drum wear will bring down the cartridge before waste overflow gets a chance.
Is it safe? Burning issue ...
For those cartridges that can be done this way, melt & pour is by far the easiest way to go. As with the combustion of any organic substance (such as petrol or tobacco), a cocktail of gases can be produced, some of which are harmful or at least irritant. We ourselves have no hesitation in researching and refilling with melt & pour in a well-ventilated room. If we didn’t have a well-ventilated room handy, we’d have no hesitation in doing it all outside.
Breathe more easily
The safety information received about the ingredients reveals no particular hazards in toner’s chemical make up. But if, like us, you think our long-suffering lungs already get enough traffic fumes, industrial discharges, passive smoking, active smoking and indoor irritant dusts, then wear a nuisance dust mask when dealing with all powders – including DIY toner powder.
We think refilling toner cartridges in the ways we talk about is safe for the average adult exercising due care. But we might be wrong. You have to decide for yourself. Whatever you decide, there’s no come back on us. The next bit says that the way lawyers do and we haven’t used smaller print:
All information offered is believed to be true and is offered for consideration in good faith. However, U Refill Toner Ltd gives no warranties, neither explicit nor implicit as to the completeness or accuracy of any information offered nor the ultimate safety of refilling toner cartridges in any manner described or suggested nor the ultimate safety or hazardousness of products supplied by U Refill Toner Ltd. The onus is on the purchaser to evaluate all possible risk, including the possible incompleteness or inaccuracy of currently available information, and by proceeding to use the refill product or products, the purchaser thereby assumes all risk of peril or injury howsoever arising.
If you decide not to use the product, just return it and we’ll cheerfully refund your money.
Back to questions
Delivery
|
90% of orders we get before 1pm arrive next working day, but please allow 3 days for delivery. |