The Differences Between Re-manufactured and Compatible Printer Cartridges
02/22/2020
First of all I need to start with YES original ink or toner cartridges are very
expensive and in some cases are more expensive than the printer itself. This is why people are shopping for remanufactured or compatible products. I’m sure if you
have a printer at home or office you have searched for ink or toner
replacement and you have seen the number of companies offering the replacements
either compatible or remanufactured.
Some of those companies offering them as “remanufactured” and some “Compatible”
These are the questions most of people who are frustrated buying the expensive print cartridges have in mind, when they see a very good price for remanufactured or compatible.
Ok let’s talk about them.
These are the cartridges you receive when you buy your printer (which usually is just a sample or demo version of the cartridge) and you need to replace them very soon because they just have enough ink to test the printer and maybe print a little bit more pages. I have to say here that if you buy the new OEM it will definitely print more number of pages but they are the most expensive ones. They should be the most reliable ones too but unfortunately in some printers they are the only options you have (we will talk about it why later).
As you can guess by its’ name remanufactured is a cartridge which has the original body and remanufactured inside. Remanufacturing varies from company to company, sometimes they just clean up the cartridge, refill the ink and put it back together and place it in the box and it comes to you. Other companies are not only doing the above but also change all the necessary components inside the cartridge too like the rollers, the blades, … basically you are getting a very brand new cartridge with a used body and that used body is the original one which will fit nicely in to your printer.
What is compatible?
The compatible cartridge is a cartridge which is all built based on the original. Inside and out side is brand new, the body is made like original, the roller the blades and so on.
So, which one is better?
I can not tell you which one is better because it completely depends on the producer, but I can tell you the pros n cons of each.
Remanufactured:
Some of those companies offering them as “remanufactured” and some “Compatible”
- What is OEM?
- Which one is better re-manufactured or compatible?
- Is it safe to use remanufactured or compatible cartridges for my printer?
- Can I expect the same if I use remanufactured or compatible?
- Why I cannot find a remanufactured or compatible cartridge for my printer?
These are the questions most of people who are frustrated buying the expensive print cartridges have in mind, when they see a very good price for remanufactured or compatible.
Ok let’s talk about them.
What is OEM product?
First of OEM stands for “Original Equipment Manufacturer”.These are the cartridges you receive when you buy your printer (which usually is just a sample or demo version of the cartridge) and you need to replace them very soon because they just have enough ink to test the printer and maybe print a little bit more pages. I have to say here that if you buy the new OEM it will definitely print more number of pages but they are the most expensive ones. They should be the most reliable ones too but unfortunately in some printers they are the only options you have (we will talk about it why later).
Which one is better re-manufactured. Or compatible?!
In order to answer this question, I first need to answer What is remanufactured? and what is compatible?As you can guess by its’ name remanufactured is a cartridge which has the original body and remanufactured inside. Remanufacturing varies from company to company, sometimes they just clean up the cartridge, refill the ink and put it back together and place it in the box and it comes to you. Other companies are not only doing the above but also change all the necessary components inside the cartridge too like the rollers, the blades, … basically you are getting a very brand new cartridge with a used body and that used body is the original one which will fit nicely in to your printer.
What is compatible?
The compatible cartridge is a cartridge which is all built based on the original. Inside and out side is brand new, the body is made like original, the roller the blades and so on.
So, which one is better?
I can not tell you which one is better because it completely depends on the producer, but I can tell you the pros n cons of each.
The Pros
Remanufactured:
The good things about the remanufactured is that basically if the company you
are buying from is a reliable company you are getting a brand new cartridge with
a much less price because the body is original and some companies using the
original parts for the inside, so congratulations you have the original one with
less cost.
Compatible:
it’s all brand new inside and out, nothing in this cartridge is used and nothing is remanufactured
Remanufactured:
it’s all brand new inside and out, nothing in this cartridge is used and nothing is remanufactured
Now the Cons
Remanufactured:
Depends on the company producing the product.
Every part inside the cartridge has a life time (but the body which is not very
sensitive unless is broken) so if the do not change some parts inside the
cartridge then you are in trouble. Buying an remanufactured cartridge which is only
refilled by ink is not good at all, unfortunately most of the time it won't well and poor print quality will happen sooner.
Compatible:
Compatible:
Compatible cartridges depends on the company, they
might be very reliable or other way around, in some cases the parts inside
cannot be produced exactly like originals like blades or some rollers so you cannot expect a quality like original when you by compatible.
It’s just a personal recommendation, if you need a good cartridge FIND A RELIABLE SELLER
Yes! They are perfectly safe to use in your printer. Also if you do used compatible/remanufactured product it will not void your printer warrany. This is a common myth.
Well to answer this I should be very honest with you, you are paying much less for your cartridge, can you expect the same?
Of course not but with some of the manufacturers yes you can.
As you can see there are tons of different sellers out there, you can find a $150.00 cartridge for less than $4.00 but some of them sell it for $12.00 or even a little more, you know why? Because they use the better quality components or knowledgeable staff to make those cartridges. So if you want to pay $4.00 instead of $12.00 for a $150.00 cartridge it’s up to you. You decide if you can expect the same from that cartridge or not.
Now a day’s cartridges are using some kind of a chip to be able to be readable for the printer. If your printer is one of the new ones on the market the you might not be able to find a compatible one on the market because the chip is not out yet. Our recommendation to our customers is to buy a printer which is out there at least for 6 months or always check our cartridge list and see if the cartridge for that printer is available or not.
Another point I can mention here about this topic is to always buy the printer which has been out for a bit so you can find the reviews for it. New printers are new to people so nobody knows how good the printer is or how reliable it works, especially if you buy that printer for you children who needs it for their school or if you are buying it for your office, you cannot afford to have a printer which is not working for days. I’m sure that you won't like to spend the money to buy the OEM cartridges all the time.
Conclusion:
It’s just a personal recommendation, if you need a good cartridge FIND A RELIABLE SELLER
Is it safe to use remanufactured or compatible cartridge for my printer?
Yes! They are perfectly safe to use in your printer. Also if you do used compatible/remanufactured product it will not void your printer warrany. This is a common myth.
Can I expect the same if I use remanufactured or compatible?
Well to answer this I should be very honest with you, you are paying much less for your cartridge, can you expect the same?
Of course not but with some of the manufacturers yes you can.
As you can see there are tons of different sellers out there, you can find a $150.00 cartridge for less than $4.00 but some of them sell it for $12.00 or even a little more, you know why? Because they use the better quality components or knowledgeable staff to make those cartridges. So if you want to pay $4.00 instead of $12.00 for a $150.00 cartridge it’s up to you. You decide if you can expect the same from that cartridge or not.
Why I cannot find a remanufactured or compatible for my printer?
Now a day’s cartridges are using some kind of a chip to be able to be readable for the printer. If your printer is one of the new ones on the market the you might not be able to find a compatible one on the market because the chip is not out yet. Our recommendation to our customers is to buy a printer which is out there at least for 6 months or always check our cartridge list and see if the cartridge for that printer is available or not.
Another point I can mention here about this topic is to always buy the printer which has been out for a bit so you can find the reviews for it. New printers are new to people so nobody knows how good the printer is or how reliable it works, especially if you buy that printer for you children who needs it for their school or if you are buying it for your office, you cannot afford to have a printer which is not working for days. I’m sure that you won't like to spend the money to buy the OEM cartridges all the time.