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What is an OEM Cartridge?

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. Examples of these are HP, Canon, Lexmark among many others. OEMs manufacturer their own products with an associated part #. We use the OEM part #s as references to make it easier for you to order the correct product.

What are Refilled Cartridges?

Refilled cartridges are printer cartridges that have been refilled with new ink or toner by printer cartridge owners or shops. Homeowners can refill their cartridges by buying refill kits.

While refill kits are the most economical option please be aware that this option has limited ability to ensure a high quality end result and more often than not ends up in frustration and a big mess. Some of the limitations include; worn or end of life-cycle components in your printer cartridge are not replaced, contamination of ink due to the new ink mixing with the remaining old ink, contamination caused by overfilling and lastly the frequent but potentially catastrophic impact of air bubbles which are pushed into the cartridge by the syringe (air bubbles prevent print heads from printing.

Due to this inability to provide consistent high quality results, A Greener Refill does not sell refill kits. Instead, AGR removes your frustrations and wasted time by only selling high quality remanufactured cartridges at a substantial cost savings from the OEMs.

What are Refurbished / Reused / Remanufactured Cartridges?

These types of cartridges are produced from existing printer cartridges that have been reused and/or repaired. All cartridges as part of the quality control process are examined, cleaned and tested to ensure only the best cartridges are released into the final production phase.

Reuse is the key here - It's better to "REUSE" an already manufactured cartridge. Less waste, energy and petroleum are used in the remanufacturing of cartridges as compared to the manufacturing of brand new OEM cartridges or even the formal recycling of a cartridge.

This "REUSE" is the premise for A Greener Refill's operating model.

What are Recycled Cartridges?

These cartridges are made from reworked waste. Many times the cartridge core is manufactured using the ground up plastic from old printer cartridges. While this is MUCH better than having a cartridge sit in a landfill for 1000yrs, it does require more energy, produces more emissions/waste and uses up more natural resources then "reusing" the core cartridge as stated above.

What are Virgin Cartridges?

These cartridges have the worst impact on the environment. Virgin cartridges (i.e. like the ones you get with your new printer which are manufactured from the actual OEMs) are produced from new raw materials, which demand much energy during production while creating new waste when they are empty.

Example: An average toner cartridge, used in laser printers, faxes and copiers is made of 40% plastic requiring up to 1 gallon (3.7 liters) of oil. The rest of the cartridge consists of 40% metal and smaller amounts of rubber, paper, foam and toner.

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Will using a remanufactured cartridge void my printer warranty?

Absolutely NOT!!! The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act made it illegal for any OEMs to strictly require the use of their ink cartridges as a condition of the warranty. A Greener Refill only uses high quality inks and rigid remanufacturing processes that will not cause damage to your printer.

Will I get the same page yield from a remanufactured cartridge as compared to new OEM cartridge?

Page yield is dependent on what you are printing. You will obviously be able to print more pages with simple text and less with graphics/picture filled pages. The answer to the question is that the same amount of high quality ink (and in some cases more) is used in A Greener Refills cartridges as with the OEMs. So which makes more sense 1) spend a lot of money on an original cartridge and not be able to print anymore pages than a refilled cartridge, or 2) Buy an A Greener Refill cartridge for a substantial cost savings and the equivalent amount of pages as with the expensive OEM cartridge?

How many times can an ink cartridge be refilled?

This depends on the cartridge. Many can be filled 3 to 4 times while others up to 10+ times. To increase the likelihood of your cartridge staying in the reuse channel and resulting in successful remanufacturing please read the "What steps can I take to help keep my cartridges in a reusable condition?"

What steps can I take to help keep my cartridges in a reusable condition?

Remember, reuse is the highest form of recycling, so whether you are having your cartridges refilled and keeping them for yourself or are giving them away to be remanufactured/refilled, there are a few things you can do to help the success rate.

1. Never print until ALL the ink is gone. You should watch your printouts and when your print quality becomes noticeably poor, STOP printing and replace your cartridge. If you print until your cartridge is completely out of ink you run the risk of burning out the print heads on the cartridge, thereby rendering the cartridge completely unusable.
2. Always store your ink cartridges (whether full or empty) with the print heads facing down. This allows them to stay moist and prevent dried ink from clogging the print heads.
3. If your ink cartridge came with a clip, placing the cartridge back into the clip also helps prevent the print heads from drying out. If you do not have a clip place your cartridge in a sealed plastic bag.
4. Protect the copper electronics area of your cartridge. If this area becomes scratched, dented, etc. your cartridge may become unusable. The same clips that prevent the print heads from drying out are also used to protect the copper electronics also.

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Why does my printer no longer show the ink levels?

When using remanufactured ink cartridges some printers disable the ink level monitors. OEMs have created pieces of software contained within the printer and cartridge which do not let the remanufacturer reset the ink counters thereby showing the cartridge as empty. Sometimes a pop-up window shows up on your computer screen telling you the printer ink is empty (see Troubleshooting section for how to handle these), but this by no means prevents the printer from printing and providing quality output. While some people like the nice visual a better gauge for when it is time to replace your cartridge is based on actual print quality. As you print, watch for the gradual fading or other inferior print quality signs.

Why Recycle Printer Cartridges?

Save landfill space and tax dollars. Each year over 375 million empty ink and toner cartridges are thrown away with most ending up in landfills or in incinerators.

To put this in perspective the 375 million cartridges per year amount to disposal of:

• 1,000,000 cartridges per day
• 11 cartridges per second.
• 375 million cartridges put end-to-end would circle the earth over three times.

And remember, this is a single year.

This mountain of waste can be reduced through reuse and recycling. Yet approximately 70% of all ink cartridges and 50% of all toner cartridges are still not recycled. Things are continuously changing for the better with pressure from legislation, environmental awareness among consumers and a more mature recycling industry.

The plastics used in printer cartridges are made of an engineering grade polymer that have a very slow decomposing rate ranging between 450 to 1000 years depending on the cartridge type. Ink cartridges may also leak printer ink polluting the surrounding environment.

The recovery, reuse and recycling of all these empty printer cartridges will save tax dollars since we all pay taxes for landfills through waste management costs.

Help conserve natural resources:

By recycling printer cartridges, we conserve natural resources and energy by reducing the need for virgin materials. Up to 97 percent of the materials that make up a printer cartridge can be recycled or reused if taken care of. Printer cartridges can in extreme cases be refilled up to 15 times before reaching the end of their life most though averaging between 5-7 refills.

Health, environment, and sustainability all demand the recycling of empty ink cartridges. Some of the important facts and statistics that speak for recycling cartridges are listed here.

Disposing ink cartridges into garbage can cause great harm to environment and miniature life. It has been studied that the plastics used in inkjet cartridges can take over ten centuries to decompose naturally. Acute health hazards associated with unsafe disposal of ink cartridges include irritation, redness, and swelling of skin; irritation of eyes; stomach upset (if the harmful material is ingested); irritation of the respiratory tract (in case of prolonged inhalation). Most importantly, carbon black has been classified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

More than three quarts of oil are consumed in producing each new laser cartridge. For manufacturing a new inkjet cartridge, about three ounces of oil are required. Recycling helps lower this cost to a considerable degree. An estimated quantity of over 11 million gallons of oil can be saved in only seven months by ink cartridge recycling.

In North America, more than 40,000 tons of plastic and metal is saved from landfills annually as a result of cartridge recycling. For every 100,000 used cartridges recycled, we can save 9599 kilograms of aluminum, 40 tons of plastic, and 1 000 000 liters of oil. Ink cartridge recycling has virtually become synonymous with successful sustainable development. The process of recycling comprises returning empty ink cartridges to the recycling company. These cartridges are usually separated into their component materials and then recycled. While cartridge recycling is free and even wins the consumer a few bucks, recycling hardware as discarded printers can cost the consumer a small shipping and handling fee.

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