In the imaging industry, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) typically insist that their customers buy replacement toner and ink cartridges exclusively from them. Many end-users are concerned that non-OEM cartridges might damage their printers or void the equipment warranty.

However, the fact is that users have more than one option when it comes to replacing printer cartridges. In most cases, you can get the best deal by choosing a reputable supplier of remanufactured toner cartridges.

Understanding the OEM

As manufacturers, OEMs have a clear interest in selling as many products as possible. Competition between print industry OEMs pushes prices down, and the brands attempt to recover their profits through the sale of consumable products like toner and ink cartridges.

This leads to an interesting system of price fluctuation. As PCWorld noted in a 2009-2012 study, the prices of OEM laser toner cartridges largely exceeded rates that could be explained by pure inflation. The trend largely accounts for low-end consumer and home-office printers being paired with expensive cartridges, but also accounts for higher cartridge costs for higher-production enterprise printers.

This gives the OEM a clear incentive for keeping their customers locked into a deal for replacement, repairs, and preventative maintenance. If the upfront cost of a physical product has to go down for the manufacturer to remain competitive, it will seek to recoup costs through long-term service.

Can Using a Non-OEM Cartridge Damage Your Printer?

Like many complex questions, this warrants a complex answer. Some non-OEM cartridges are made to exacting specifications that meet or exceed the average yield values of their OEM equivalents. Others are simply made as cheaply as possible, and can very well damage internal printer components.

When purchasing a printer, the key to generating long-term value is finding the lowest-priced, highest-quality source for printer consumables moving forward. Finding a reputable source for non-OEM cartridges can be an important part of this equation.

But there are multiple kinds of non-OEM cartridges:

  • Remanufactured Cartridges. A remanufactured cartridge is an OEM cartridge that has been disassembled, refilled, put back together and cleared for re-use. High quality remanufactured cartridges can meet or exceed OEM print quality and yield figures.
  • Newly Built Compatible Cartridges. Newly built compatible cartridges are manufactured and filled in third-party factories unlicensed by the OEM. These cartridges have rock-bottom prices but often suffer from quality issues, may damage equipment, and can even infringe on OEM intellectual property rights.

Do Non-OEM Cartridges Void Printer Warranties?

OEMs typically insist on having their customers purchase cartridges from them exclusively. The language they use makes this much very clear, warning customers against printer damage and the possibility of a voided warranty.

But upon close reading, OEM contract language never specifies that using a remanufactured cartridge will void the printer warranty. The wording always expresses conditional possibility – that using non-OEM cartridges may void your warranty.

In fact, OEMs cannot void printer warranties simply because users install remanufactured cartridges. The specific wording they use will always stop short of saying so because of a 1975 Federal mandate called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

This act prevents manufacturers from creating monopolies on products they build by forbidding companies from using tie-in sales provisions. Instead, they can only suggest that you purchase secondary consumable items from them – if you find those items available at a lower price, free market rules dictate that you should be able to purchase them.

Why Choose AIS for Consumables and Non-OEM Printer Supplies

AIS is committed to providing its clients with the greatest possible value in printer supplies and IT hardware. Our remanufactured toner comes from Clover Imaging Group, the largest and most reputable toner remanufacturer in the imaging industry.

Independent testing has shown that these remanufactured toner cartridges meet or exceed OEM performance, making them a cost-effective alternative to purchasing OEM cartridges. Unlike newly built compatible cartridges, these products are guaranteed free of defects and intellectual property rights violations.

High quality remanufactured toner helps offices and schools save on printer consumable costs while reducing their effect on the environment. Purchasing new toner cartridges often means throwing away old ones, which leads to a situation where 350 million cartridges end up in landfills every year. AIS provides reliable low-cost toner cartridge solutions to its clients while protecting the environment.

Would you like to equip your office with high quality remanufactured printer cartridges? Contact our specialists to make an order today.