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What are remanufactured cartridges?
A remanufactured cartridge is one that has been used at least once and prepared for reuse. Laser and toner cartridges can be reused, or remanufactured, by disabling and cleaning each cartridge, replacing any worn parts and refilling the cartridge with toner. The practice was originated in the early 1980s and has advanced to a scientific process. Today the remanufactured cartridge industry is a $6 billion industry served by an international trade association.
What are OEMs?
Why should I buy remanufactured?
For example, for every cartridge that is remanufactured, a "core," or spent cartridge, is reused. Each core is made of approximately two and a half pounds of plastic, and, but for remanufacturers, that core would end up going into the waste stream. The plastic used in a typical cartridge is industrial-grade and does not begin to degrade for at least 10 centuries, or 1,000 years. By ensuring that your empty cartridges go to a local remanufacturer, you know they will be reused. The OEMs do not reuse cartridges. They are either ground up or abandoned in third world countries. Click here to read about the affects of e-waste on a small town in China.
How much can I save?
The lowest priced remanufactured cartridges may not be your best bargain. And the one that prints the most pages might cost you more per page. Ask your source of remanufactured cartridges:
Why are OEM cartridges so expensive?
Just as in the past century, razor blade companies sold their razors at cost or less so that consumers would have to buy their blades again and again, printer manufacturers sell their machine (laser or ink) for little more than cost-sometimes less. They make all of their profits on selling the cartridges and that profit is astronomical. According to a Boston-based research firm, Lyra Research, Inc., one OEM (Lexmark) realizes as much as 50 percent profits on its supplies stream. You may have noticed that the cost of printers is becoming cheaper and cheaper. You may have bought your home printer for under $100 and office printers have gone under the $1,000 mark-a huge departure from the past. Did you also notice that the prices for supplies for those printers are not decreasing? This is a common marketing scheme. Sell the machine cheaply and make money on the supplies. The OEMs make the lion's share of their profits in these supplies, because they have adopted a razor and blade business model. The OEMs sell their printers at low or no profit, because they make up their lost profits - and then some - on the supplies.
How do I go about remanufacturing my cartridges?
There is a state-by state list of Int'l ITC members and how to contact them on the www.i-itc.org info website. There are hundreds of dealers who will offer products and buy back cartridges.
What should I look for in a remanufactured cartridge supplier?
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