How to Refill a Laser Printer or Copier Toner Cartridge from freemexy's blog
Printer manufacturers usually do not instruct or even encourage customers on how to refill a toner cartridge in hopes that you will simply buy a new replacement cartridge. However, adding toner to a laser printer on your own is an inexpensive and easy alternative to purchasing a new toner cartridge. Learn how to add toner to your cartridge to help save you money.Toner Chips for Photo Copiers
(This article is about the fancy integrated toner and drum cartridges
for small laser printers and copiers. Big free-standing ones often take
separate toner containers that could be refilled but may not be nearly
as overpriced to begin.)
Purchase the proper type of toner powder
that is compatible with your printer and its cartridge. Toner powders
vary by grain size, chemical construction, and weight. That is precisely
why only the compatible type of toner powder will work with your
cartridge.
There are several types of toner, but not separate ones
for every single printer model: most differ on features, not basic
technology. In a pinch, a toner from a very similar model of printer
will probably also work, but research or ask first. And if the seller
hasn't promised compatibility, don't blame them in the unlikely but
possible event it doesn't work properly or even damages the printer.
(The risk may well be worthwhile for an obsolescent printer otherwise
needing replacement or an expensive original equipment manufacturer
cartridge.)
Toner is messy: prepare your workspace! Place paper towels or newspapers
on a flat surface to protect your workspace in case you spill toner
powder. Put on rubber gloves if you want to make sure you do not get
powder on your hands.
If you're going to need to use a "burn tool" (a soldering-iron like
device for melting holes in plastic), work over a heavy, hard to burn
surface such as a plate to not scorch your table directly or through a
few sheets of paper.
Wash and dry your hands (or the gloves) often when working with toner to
keep other things clean. It's not dangerous, but it can stain.
Locate the holding tank on your toner cartridge. This is a relatively
featureless wide compartment where you will need to refill toner powder.
Check to see if the holding tank has an existing fill hole or not. Some
cartridges already have a fill hole stopped up with a plastic plug that
you can easily remove.
Other cartridges require that you make your own fill hole, and
corresponding toner refill kits typically come with a burn tool and
heavy-duty aluminum "flue tape" to close up the hole after you finish
refilling a toner cartridge. Follow the instructions provided with the
toner refill kit if you are required to use a burn tool. The
instructions will show you where and how to burn the hole.
In a pinch an ordinary small electric soldering iron can suffice as a
burn tool. But things will get messy as you will have to melt and burn
away all the unwanted plastic, rather than melt only the edges of a hole
through it with the special tool.
If the "burn tool" has a tip screwed on, make sure it's screwed on tight
for efficient heating, before you heat it up (or after you let it
cool).
Just make a hole into the holding tank big enough to admit the toner
bottle nozzle. Do not stab so far in as to damage other parts from
behind.
If you raise a lip of melted plastic around the hole, trim or melt it
off (you may need to periodically and carefully wipe the tool tip) to
ensure tape will fit well around the hole to seal it and not be
vulnerable to bumps, and to ensure that the cartridge will still fit
well into the printer. This is especially important for cheap color
laser printers' cartridges, whose entire bodies are rotated inside the
printer to each line up in turn with the printer's imaging system for
each page--a process which can dislodge stray tape.
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