Question Compatible laser toner cartridges

[mikeymikec]

Do you guys have any opinions on this topic, e.g. a brand you would recommend (Brother printer btw) or recommend against using?

 

[Paperdoc]

For many years I used a Lexmark colour laser printer model C543dn. I started with genuine Lexmark toner cartridges, high-yield versions. But based on prior experience with third-party ones from a particular supplier in Canada, I switched to Moustache brand (high-yield again) from 123Ink.ca

https://www.123ink.ca/c-11669-c-series

I used them for many years. For the Waste Toner Bottles there are no third-party replacements, so I used Lexmark's. On those printers and carts the chip apparently is not used to identify "Genuine Lexmark", but only to track the number of copies made with that cart. I was never clear whether this is based solely on numbers of prints, or on some sensor of actual toner level in each cartridge. Never had any problem with these toners. Print results including print count per cart, colour accuracy and intensity always seemed the same as "geniune".

Eventually a couple years ago the printer developed a fatal flaw. The error info indicated the fuser element in the developer system burned out, and this has nothing to do with toner quality. So I replaced it - repair parts for this discontinued model are hard to find and difficult to install. Got a Brother model HL-L3290CDW. Of course, this is almost the same as other makers' laser printers, except that the light for optical exposure of the imaging drum is from a 600 dpi array of tiny LED's rather than a single laser beam scanned by mirrors. The result is the same. Lots of reviews score Brother units highly, and the prices are good. In part I chose Brother because I found on the web an easy process to reset the print counter for each toner cartridge when you change it, so that cart does NOT have to be genuine Brother. I went to that same toner supplier and bought high-yield Moustache carts for each of the four toners in anticipation of replacement. So far I have printed just over 675 pages (of these 215 in full colour) on the start-up Brother carts, and just had to replace the Black cart only. So I can NOT tell you the long-term performance of these carts for my new Brother, but immediate result says the new Black is just fine.

This last is not directly relevant. I also have been using a couple of Epson dedicated 4" x 6" snapshot printers for photos. One eventually crashed and I got a newer model. They have done a great job for photo quality and durability. The standard "refill" supply pack has one mutli-ink cartridge and 150 sheets of glossy paper. Using genuine Epson packs I got consistently just over 150 prints per pack, so I kept a small stock of extra paper bought separately. Recently because I had too much paper-only in stock I bought a couple of third-party ink carts only for that printer. They appeared to print just fine with photo quality and colours much the same as "genuine" inks. BUT in two or three of these I got only 50 prints or less per cart. They were cheap, but that print yield made them even more expensive per print than using real Epson ink-and-paper packs. So for that printer I go with the printer maker.