[vcf-midatlantic] Quality laser toner refills? (potentially OT)

[Dean Notarnicola]

I've dealt with various type of laser printers since the original HP
LaserJet, and in my experience I've rarely found a repro or refill that had
constituent quality; they've sometimes actually leaked and ruined some
printers.
In the end, cartridges are wear items that are precision items, they have
mechanical parts and seals that have a limited lifetime and that go out of
spec after a few uses. Its a shame because it's almost impossible to kill
those printers.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016, David Riley via vcf-midatlantic <
vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> This is vintage-ish... a LaserJet 2200 is kinda skirting the definition of
> "vintage", but the question applies to older laser printers as well.
>
> I have an LJ 2200 that still sees frequent use (it's a great printer,
> especially with a network card in it), but it looks like HP has either
> discontinued or sharply reduced new production of its cartridge ("96A").
> There are other toner cartridges for older laser printers that are entirely
> discontinued.
>
> However, there are a lot of refillers out there who sell refilled
> cartridges for reasonable prices.  I've never had good success with the
> print quality from those, though.  There are also toner refill kits, which
> seem like a dubious (and messy) proposition.  Does anyone have POSITIVE
> experience with any particular refillers?  Whenever I've gotten one from
> e.g. "Cartridge Depot" or the like, the prints have been either light,
> uneven, or sticky.  I'd like to have something that's roughly comparable to
> the excellent quality of the original HP toner.  I don't mind refilling it
> myself if there are good results; I wouldn't be surprised if some of the
> spotty quality issues are due to worn wiper parts, etc. in the older
> refilled cartridges.
>
> If I search on Amazon for HP 96A, I get a lot of results that claim to be
> "original", but the reviews say they're rebuilt/refilled cartridges, with
> all the related ill effects.  Staples does seem to stock it, but for a bit
> more than I expected (and if it's discontinued, I don't know for how
> long).  Regardless, it's a question of interest for all older laser
> printers.
>
>
>
> - Dave
>
>