Toner cartridge

A toner cartridge is a component of electrophotography devices such as laser printers, copiers or laser fax machines.

Toner cartridges contain a so-called one-component toner and usually also the developer unit, which is equal with renewed on an exchange.

Toner is an extremely fine powder which is harmful by inhalation and should not be discharged into the environment. For this reason, the toner is supplied in small and medium-sized copiers or laser printers in a sealed unit.

The advantage of the very simple and clean alternation is a - in contrast to the toner in loose containers - the higher prize.

A distinction is made between the original, alternative, rebuild and refill toner cartridges. Originals submitted by the printer manufacturer, so-called OEM and are produced completely new to the rule. However, the original manufacturers also rely on components that have already been used once. These are, for example, housing components or wear -free. Alternatively, providers produce similar to the original manufacturer, but also rely on these housing parts which comes in part from original cartridges. There are also built new housing parts. In Rebuild toner cartridges, the wearing parts are replaced with new parts or used parts that have a good condition. The quality is - at 10 to 30% lower prices compared to OEM products - acceptable. Also is facilitated by the recycling of portions of the cartridge to the environment.

In the DIN 33870 (recycling cartridges) lays down minimum requirements for the rebuild and refill cartridges. However, very few suppliers of recycled cartridges produce standards-compliant products. Only standard-compliant recycling products can be compared objectively. For all other products you have to rely on the correctness of this information.

Since around 2004 support some major OEM manufacturers such as Brother, Hewlett- Packard, Canon, Lexmark, Epson, etc. a new International Standard: ISO / IEC 19752 (LSA- letter ). This test method determines the print output of toner cartridges in monochrome ( B / W) laser printers. It provides high quality requirements of the consumables. Here is a summary of the test criteria of ISO / IEC 19752:

• Using a standard page (LSA- letter ), printed in a controlled environment with printer default settings.
• It will be tested at least nine of each cartridge until they are recognized by the printer as empty ( Toner Low message). As a result, an average of the expected pressure performance are formed.
• The cartridge and printer you are using come from the open market and are no specific test cartridges.
• Measurements of print quality, set up an end - use criterion.
• It will be tested at least three cassettes on three different printers to avoid bias due to hardware differences.
• The printing environment is controlled and consistent because temperature and humidity affect the printing performance.
• The test criteria set by the global and industry-wide participation constitutes an objective standard