Remanufactured Printer Ink Cartridges: Why You Should Use Them

One of the most common arguments against the use of recycled printer ink and toner cartridges is their supposed substandard quality. For many years, word-of-mouth anecdotes about the horrors of using recycled cartridges have been passed on from person to person and have since served as cautionary tales for anyone who is considering to buy them. But are recycled cartridges really all that bad? As it turns out, there are actually excellent products out there. Read on to find out more.

Remanufactured Printer Ink Cartridges: Why You Should Use Them

Why the reputation exists 

On one hand, one can’t really blame the many of the people who have sworn never to buy recycled cartridges ever again. In the ink refilling market, there are a few unscrupulous suppliers and refillers who are just out there to make a quick buck. At best, their products deliver inferior performance; at worst they can ruin the users’ work and printing equipment.

Despite these issues, you would be well advised not to turn your back on recycled printer ink and toner cartridges just yet. If you want to avoid unreliable products, you can instead choose a class of recycled printer cartridge products known as remanufactured cartridges. In this article, we will explain the differences between remanufacturing and two other main methods of printer cartridge recycling.

Refilling using ink refill kits

Cartridges that have been refilled using ink refill kits are arguably at the bottom of the hierarchy of recycled printer cartridge products in terms of quality and performance. Ink refill kits are typically sold in supermarkets and stores as packaged ink bottles with syringes, which the buyer can use to transfer new ink into empty cartridges. 

The refilling process is very rudimentary. Since the old cartridges will not be disassembled, there’s really no chance of fully cleaning the ink dregs inside them, often resulting in faulty printing performance.

Remanufactured Printer Ink Cartridges: Why You Should Use Them

Simple ink refilling

There are also many ink refilling services that employ elementary procedures to clean the old cartridges before refilling them. These methods may involve the use of equipment such as spinning machines. This often results in better-quality printouts, but this is still not enough to produce the kind of performance that is on a par with those offered by cartridges made by original equipment manufacturers.

Printer cartridge remanufacturing

For the best quality output, you need to look for printer cartridges that have undergone complete remanufacturing process. Remanufactured printer cartridges are considered the gold standard in recycled cartridge products, thanks to the rigorous process that they go through. Remanufacturing is a multi-step process that includes the disassembly of the old cartridges, visual and electrical inspection of their individual parts, complete removal of remaining ink using high-capacity cleaning systems, complete drying, computer-aided refilling, reassembly, resealing, and quality control.

The exacting process ensures that the final products will perform just as well as original products. They are actually so good that even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends the use of remanufactured cartridges in its Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines. In this guidebook, the EPA considers the procurement of  recycled items like remanufactured ink cartridges as vital in the U.S. government’s efforts to save energy, conserve natural resources, reduce solid waste, reduce water and air pollutants, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create more economic opportunities for people.

To make sure that you’ll get the best remanufactured cartridges, begin your search by reading online reviews made by customers regarding manufacturers. It would also help if the company has 100% satisfaction and money-back guarantees that protect buyers from faulty products.