What color laser printer is easily & cheaply refilled at home fromnon OEM toner?

[J.G.]

Q: What color laser printer can cheaply be refilled with non-OEM toner?

For years, I bought the Costco HP inkjets which required ink priced at
about 100 times what ink 'should' cost. I even tried the Costco $20 ink
refills, but of course, HP makes refills almost impossible, on purpose,
so I simply vowed to never buy another HP ink-based printer.

I bought an HP B&W laser printer, and have happily and successfully been
buying $5 guaranteed-used-once C92 cartridges and refilling the C4092A
black toner over the years at home, for about $5 for 250 grams of toner
as shown below (after melting a circular hole in the toner cartridge):
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/9007348/img/9007348.jpeg

The problem is my kid wants a color printer and the wife concurs.

I never again wish to go through the expensive ink-refill sheer hell of
the typical HP inkjet ... so the 'only' color printer for me is one which
I can easily and inexpensively refill, at home, from non-OEM sources.

Hence my question:

Q: Do you know of a color laser printer that can be as easily refilled
from non-OEM sources like the B&W laserjets can?

 

[J.G.]

Even if you refill the cartridge in HP they will error with a time stamp
-- there is a trick / hack to get around the limitation on them with a
time / date stamp. I don't bother anymore.

I know. I know. In fact, I had bought two sets of HP inkjet ink tanks,
and, I put one set aside as an emergency spare - and I was using and
refilling the first set - and then, at some much later date, I put the
brand new (but a couple of years old by now) spares in to start the
process anew ... and guess what? These never used cartridges ran out of
time in just a month or three. (I don't remember the exact details but I
was fuming that HP was so sinister.) I vowed never to buy another HP
inkjet all-in-one printer for the rest of my life (just like I've vowed
never to buy American or German cars ever again!).

I'm positive HP did that just to foil the refillers!

I suggest looking at a Kodak AIO printer / fax / photo printer.

I have never refilled a COLOR laser printer. But I must say, refilling my
B&W HP office printer is trivial. You just pour the bottle in the hole
and seal it up with scotch tape.

Are the color laser printers as trivial to refill?

Is it the same pour-the-toner-in process, only perhaps three times over
(one for each color)?

 

[J.G.]

As far as color ink jet goe, HP will be the last one to touch. I am
happy with Canon and Brother is OK too. All ink jet, laser printers in
my family is Canon.

Can you easily refill the Canon & Brother printer ink?

I was an 'expert' on refilling the HP printer ink ... but alas ... it's
STILL a hugely frustrating process, what with the drop-dead dates and all.

Do the Canon & Brother ink tanks have time stamps?

 

[Tony Hwang]

Can you easily refill the Canon & Brother printer ink?

I was an 'expert' on refilling the HP printer ink ... but alas ... it's
STILL a hugely frustrating process, what with the drop-dead dates and all.

Do the Canon & Brother ink tanks have time stamps?

Hi,
I never refill. I Buy non-original ink cart. on eBay.
Have not had any trouble printing text or photo. Ink jet is
Canon Pixma MP990. Monpchrome laser is Canon Image class one.

HP turned me off two ways. Frequent paper jam and cost of ink.

 

[J.G.]

Estimate the cost of a color print.

My kid is going to Kinkos to print color.
I think it's a few bucks each time.

Probably something like half a buck per picture.
When you think of it, it isn't bad considering you're not
paying to maintain the printer and buy printing supplies.

But, it's not convenient for them (the wife/kids).

If the toners don't come separate, count on throwing out 2/3

That's a great point!

If we were to scope the 'perfect' refillable color laser
printer, would it have SEPARATE toner tanks for the 3 colors?

After a month, see how badly they want that color printer.

Heh heh. I get where you're going. But these are 'women'.

If you want to print photos, you've got another problem.
A laser that prints nice photos is gonna cost you.

Hmmm... that's a key point. Yes. They want to print photos!

He figures that, given all the ink he throws out for
plugged cartridges, it's costing him about $5/picture.

I understand. And I don't disagree!

But, the comparison starts with scoping out a color printer
that can be refilled.

Are these the specs so far?
1. Photo quality color laser printer
2. Separate toner tanks/cartridges for each color
3. Refillable by the home owner with non-OEM toner

 

[Oren]

I know. I know. In fact, I had bought two sets of HP inkjet ink tanks,
and, I put one set aside as an emergency spare - and I was using and
refilling the first set - and then, at some much later date, I put the
brand new (but a couple of years old by now) spares in to start the
process anew ... and guess what? These never used cartridges ran out of
time in just a month or three. (I don't remember the exact details but I
was fuming that HP was so sinister.) I vowed never to buy another HP
inkjet all-in-one printer for the rest of my life (just like I've vowed
never to buy American or German cars ever again!).

I'm positive HP did that just to foil the refillers!

I hate when that happens. I guess the windows registry reads embedded
(EPROM) info from them and stores it the registry. Hence the hack to
get around it. I'm not sure, but there is a hack for the problem.

I have never refilled a COLOR laser printer. But I must say, refilling my
B&W HP office printer is trivial. You just pour the bottle in the hole
and seal it up with scotch tape.

Are the color laser printers as trivial to refill?

Is it the same pour-the-toner-in process, only perhaps three times over
(one for each color)?

I can't say. The few ink cartridges I refilled (and my last) I used a
syringe to fill them. Messy is saying it lightly, even when being
careful.

No more HP in my location....
--

 

[J.G.]

I never refill. I Buy non-original ink cart. on eBay.

You can't do that with the HP inkjet I had because there
is some kind of electronic 'signature' and time stamp
hokey pokey stuff specifically designed to thwart you.

That's why I'll never again buy an HP color inkjet.

HP turned me off two ways.
Frequent paper jam and cost of ink.

I'm ok on the jamming. But now that I've had the B&W
laser, I'm enthralled at how reliable it is compared
to the multiple HP inkjets I've had. I'm done with ink.

I just want to know what you guys use as a refillable color
laser printer.

 

[J.G.]

The few ink cartridges I refilled (and my last) I used a
syringe to fill them. Messy is saying it lightly

Oh. I know. I know Oren. I have had blue fingers many times!

The HP cartridges I had were actually tanks with sponges in them.
So, you had to not overfill them, or they leaked.
But you had to fill them before they went too dry or they leaked.
Plus you had to drill the hole in the right spot or they leaked.
Even so, you had to deal with the time stamps that they burned
into the ink tank at the factory. There was no way around that.

You 'could' get past the time stamps they put in the printer
memory for the cartridge. I tried the CMOS battery trick and
shorting a pin on the motherboard ... but what worked best was
to have THREE cartridges because the printer would only remember
the unique id of the last two!

But all that effort simply turned me off because HP made it
difficult on purpose to refill the ink in the ink tanks.

Note: Technically, these weren't cartridges because the ink jets
were separate from the ink tanks in my HP all in one printer.

No more HP in my location....

I'm OK with my HP LASER printer ... but I too will NEVER ever
buy another HP inkjet in my entire life!

Contrast all that mess with the inkjets with the trivial refill
of the B&W toner on the laserjet and I'm a believer in laser printers!

Hence the quest for a refillable color laser printer.

 

[Metspitzer]

My kid is going to Kinkos to print color.
I think it's a few bucks each time.

Probably something like half a buck per picture.
When you think of it, it isn't bad considering you're not
paying to maintain the printer and buy printing supplies.

But, it's not convenient for them (the wife/kids).

That's a great point!

If we were to scope the 'perfect' refillable color laser
printer, would it have SEPARATE toner tanks for the 3 colors?

Heh heh. I get where you're going. But these are 'women'.


Hmmm... that's a key point. Yes. They want to print photos!


I understand. And I don't disagree!

But, the comparison starts with scoping out a color printer
that can be refilled.

Are these the specs so far?
1. Photo quality color laser printer
2. Separate toner tanks/cartridges for each color
3. Refillable by the home owner with non-OEM toner

With smart phones and laptops becoming more and more popular, just
show the kids a photo hosting site. Printed pictures are so
yesterday.

Photo hosting will allow you to view the photos everywhere on the
planet.

 

[mike]

But, the comparison starts with scoping out a color printer
that can be refilled.

Are these the specs so far?
1. Photo quality color laser printer
2. Separate toner tanks/cartridges for each color
3. Refillable by the home owner with non-OEM toner

I have a friend who uses a Tektronix/Xerox color laser printer.
It's not main stream, and the toner is expensive, but he
trolls EBAY and buys up toner when it shows up cheap.
He figgers he has two lifetime supplies of toner.

Might be interesting to see what toner shows up on EBAY and
buy that printer.

I bought some mono refill kits for my Laserjet almost 20 years ago.
Never used 'em because I keep buying full cartridges that show
up on Craigslist. Got a closet full of 'em. And another closet
full of $2 garage sale laserjets. Life is good here in B&W land ;-)

 

[Metspitzer]

there's no reason a toner tank cannot have separate sections and still be
refillable. KISS principle.


Not really. some folks want to print them for display.
like in a picture frame,maybe to have on their desk.

Not if you don't want to put your pictures on the "cloud" for anyone to
hack into.

It is a shame that is true. A small portion of the population screws
it up for everyone.

 

[J.G.]

Kodak ink is so cheap refilling is just silly. Black $10, color $20 ~

Interesting.

Are you saying that the HP refills, which I already KNOW are hugely
expensive, are priced higher than the ink refills for other brands?

 

[J.G.]

Caution: Some (all?) printers have chips on the cartridges that inform
the printer when it's out of toner. Just adding toner is insufficient

Certainly the Hewlett Packard HP d135 officejet that I had owned
contained the evil ink tank chip; but the B&W HP laser printer that I now
have, has nothing of the sort.

So it's not 'all' printers ... luckily for us!

The task is to find a color laserwriter that allows refilling.

 

[J.G.]

there's no reason a toner tank cannot have separate sections and still
be refillable. KISS principle.

I have to say, refilling the HP 3200m laser printer is as KISS as it gets!

1. You buy the soldering iron hole-melting tool (optional).
2. You buy toner at the same time (about $5 for 250 grams).
3. You melt the hole & pour in the toner.
4. You put scotch tape over the hole!

Here's a picture of my refill yesterday, in fact:
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/9007348/img/9007348.jpeg

The 'white' circle is a bit of finesse ala' alt.home.repair hints. I
scotch tape the white plastic top of an orange-juice pull-out over the
melted hole. Voila!

Total costs for, say, five years toner is something like:
a) Original HP C4092A (92A) cartridge (about $40)
b) Refills about every six months (about $5 each)
c) Empty used-once cartridge every 2.5 years (about $5 each)

Because of the ease of refilling, I LOVE my HP 3200m laser printer!
Because of the cost of refilling, I will NEVER buy an HP inkjet or
officejet printer ever again for the rest of my life!

Of course, if I go 'color', I'm assuming the refilling of the color laser
printer will be as simple as the B&W is currently.

 

[J.G.]

Kodak sold their cameras at practically no profit and made all their
money off the film. Such marketing tactic is not uncommon and that
appears to be what HP is doing.

Both Kodak & HP made their money off the 'chemicals' or 'ink' of photo
printing.

Googling, it seems that I may have a problem though, with my idea of
adding a color laser printer for photos.

According to this cnet forum, laser printers don't do photos:
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-10149_102-268510/photo-inkjet-printers-vs-
color-laser-printers/

 

[J.G.]

Of course, if I go 'color', I'm assuming the refilling of the color
laser printer will be as simple as the B&W is currently.

I just realized that the color laser printer 'might' not work for pictures at home!

Here are some articles I'm reading, to determine if it can:
Laser Vs. Inkjet Printer
(http://www.buzzle.com/articles/laser-printer-vs-inkjet-printer.html)

Should Your Office Buy an Inkjet or a Laser Printer?
(http://www.pcworld.com/businesscent..._office_buy_an_inkjet_or_a_laser_printer.html)

Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?
(http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/354659/laser_vs_inkjet_printers_which_better_/)

Inkjet Versus Laser Printers
(http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive/article.php/3521141/Inkjet-Versus-Laser-Printers.htm)

 

[J.G.]

They are pricy. Home style light duty ones will do fair monthly duty
cycle, light in weight and small foot print

I just googled "small business color laser printer", which came up with:

PC World: Top 10 Color Laser Printers February 2010
(http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1674/top_10_color_laser_printers.html)
1. Dell 5130cdn Color Laser Printer
2. Lexmark C748de
3. Lexmark C792de
4. HP Color LaserJet Enterprise CP4025dn Printer
5. Dell C3760dn
6. Samsung CLP-775ND Color Laser Printer
7. OKI Printing Solutions C330dn
8. Brother HL-4570CDW
9. Dell 2150cdn
10. Xerox ColorQube 8570DN

Consumer Search: Color Laser Printers : December 2011
(http://www.consumersearch.com/color-laser-printers/small-office-printers)
1. Brother HL-4570CDW (*Est. $350
2. Lexmark C792de (*Est. $1500)
3. Xerox Phaser 6280N (*Est. $350)
a. Dell 5130cdn (*Est. $950)

About.com: Top 7 Color Laser Printers
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/officemachines/tp/colorlaser.htm
1. Dell 5130cdn
2. OKI C610DN
3. Brother HL4570CDW
4. Lexmark C544DW
5. Brother HL-4150CDN
6. Dell 2150CDN
7. Xerox Phaser 6010N

I see the 'problem' with the small office color laser printers.
a) They're pricey
b) They're huge
c) They don't do photos well

 

[krw]

Interesting.

Are you saying that the HP refills, which I already KNOW are hugely
expensive, are priced higher than the ink refills for other brands?

Sure. Kodak markets as the anti-HP. Ink is ridiculously cheap. I
interviewed at their Dayton plant, where they make *huge* inkjet printers.
Their cost per page was just below xerography and just above offset. At
similar speeds. Amazing things.

 

[krw]

Both Kodak & HP made their money off the 'chemicals' or 'ink' of photo
printing.

Googling, it seems that I may have a problem though, with my idea of
adding a color laser printer for photos.

According to this cnet forum, laser printers don't do photos:
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-10149_102-268510/photo-inkjet-printers-vs-
color-laser-printers/

For photos, dye sublimation is the best. It makes ink look cheap, though.

 

[krw]

I have the HP CP4025dn. It has been a great printer for the last couple of
years. No problems, great prints. I use HP toner. For the good jobs I use
HP paper.

I also have the P2015dn. Although it's been a good printer, the software
sucks. Using it on the network is next to impossible (unstable) so I use the
USB connection, which limits its functionality. I buy whatever paper is cheap
(usually from Target) and buy toner cartridges from inkjetsuperstore.com.

Because the HP software is so horrid, it'll be the last HP printer I buy.