Toner cartridge - Buy genuine one or a compatible copy?

[cricketfield73]

The 4 toner cartridges on my Brother laserjet printer need replacing and I was shocked to find that it's £150, but after a quick look online it's possible to buy compatible cartridges for around £50 (there are the inevitable 'mixed bag' of reviews for these) and I do recall installing copies of HP cartridges in the past and it resulting in no end of both quality and software problems.
I know the safest way would be to shell out £150 - but if I could save £100 (and avoid surely being blatantly ripped off in the process) then it might be worth giving the copies a go - assuming of course that they work!
Does anyone have any experience or advice?

[Ightenhill_Claret]

Not expert advice but I use compatible copies in my Epson XP-345 and I've had no issues. It pops up to tell me I'm using non-genuine cartridges but never had an issue.

Granted my is an inkjet rather than a laserjet but there you go. (Probably absolutely no help at all! )

[Hipper]

I have an Epson printer, not laser jet either. When I was doing a lot of printing I tried generic cartridges but had various issues but not all the time. It seemed hit or miss. The printer would say the cartridge was empty and it wasn't; they leaked; they often didn't seem to last as long even though they were supposed to be the same size; they also seemed to require more checking and head cleaning When they worked properly they printed just as well as Epson cartridges.

At the moment I don't print much so use Epson only.

I also tried refilled Epson cartridges but they were even more unpredictable then generic and I gave up with them pretty quickly.

[Leon_C]

Several years of experience using 'compatible' inkjet and toner cartridges leads me to believe that you're always better buying the originals.
Frustrating, because the cost can be 4x that of the copies - but I've had many issues with non original consumables.
If actual print quality is important, it's a no-brainer. If you're just knocking out cheap black/white prints for the darts club or whatever, you can decide what works best for you.

[cricketfield73]

Thanks - I think that even 3 posts in I know what I need to do and that's buy the Brother branded.
I had the same issue as Ightenhill_Claret states previously with never ending screen messages about compatibility and also incorrectly stating 'cartridge empty'. Given that, although in the main I am only printing 'darts club' type stuff, I do occasionally need quality so based on that I have just taken up an Amazon 30 day trial and just about to shell out £154 though at least I'll be back in action tomorrow that way.

[Leon_C]

Fake toner cartridges have, in my experience, had a tendency to leak on the prints. I don't have data, and you tend to remember the worst experiences - but it often felt like every other print was ruined. And it's hard enough to get the printer to work properly in the first place!

[cricketfield73]

Yes, and I suppose that could be said for fake/copy parts for just about anything. Even when I needed a new filter for my Shark vacuum cleaner with the 'genuine' part (a bit of plastic and foam) priced at a king's ransom I went for a 'compatible' one and the POS just kept detaching itself in use as the housing was a fraction out on size.
Oh well, at least my cartridge is apparently now 'on it's way'.

[wilks_bfc]

Tbh I’ve sometimes found buying a new printer is cheaper than buying replacement cartridges

[Bosscat]

Have never had a laser printer ... used to have an Epson inkjet printer with cartridges and tried both Epson and compatables ... Got fed up with cartridges running out (and needing cleaning regularly ... using the ink up quickly) and moved onto an Epson eco-tank printer using bottles of ink instead of cartridges ... have just topped the tanks up after owning the printer for a couple of years ... yes I still need to regularly use the head clean function but as the ink is cheaper in bottles, I don't mind so much. 4 bottles of ink Black 140ml, Cyan 70ml, Magenta 70ml and Yellow 70ml is £15.99 ... genuine ink cartridges were 9ml Black 5ml other three and about £36 for 4
Generic ones around £15 for 4...

So is a no brainer to have the eco-tank

[dougcollins]

So many issues with Amazon generic I ended up forced to use HP stuff. It always works though.

[4midable]

Copy
But if your using a lot get a subscription

[whiffa]

Always get compatible, but don't buy the cheapest ones - usually a premium compatible toner is worth the extra £4-5.

[dsr]

Depends how old and valuable your printer is. I have an old HP printer, bought second hand (reconditioned) about 10 years ago, and it's now so old that HP don't make the toner cartridges. But the generic "rip-offs" work perfectly well.

Inkjet, in my experience, is a lot more tricky than toner. I tend to buy the originals for the inkjet (but use it as little as possible).

[Carwin261]

We only use our HP occasionally but pay £2.99 a month and HP automatically send us new cartridges when the ink gets low.

[wilks_bfc]

We only use our HP occasionally but pay £2.99 a month and HP automatically send us new cartridges when the ink gets low.

If you’re only occasionally using it is that worth the money?

How often do you need to replace the cartridges?

[Carwin261]

If you’re only occasionally using it is that worth the money?

How often do you need to replace the cartridges?

Probably twice a year and never have to print something and find the inks run out.

[eastcoastclaret]

I have a relative who is a printer engineer and his advise was to always buy genuine toner cartridges. He wouldn't touch inkjet due to the problems you get with them drying up and leaking.

[Miguel]

Give Michael Toms Stationers a call. Always offer good advice and can supply quality compatibles or originals. You'll also be supporting a local company ran by local people.
01282 833090

[IanMcL]

I have a Kyocera laser black and white. Authentic toner well over a hundred pounds. The compatible ones I can get for as little as about £22, if I buy 3 or 4 at a time. They are fine. Machine used to tell me it was alien but now printer just gets on with them!

[Lowbankclaret]

The 4 toner cartridges on my Brother laserjet printer need replacing and I was shocked to find that it's £150, but after a quick look online it's possible to buy compatible cartridges for around £50 (there are the inevitable 'mixed bag' of reviews for these) and I do recall installing copies of HP cartridges in the past and it resulting in no end of both quality and software problems.
I know the safest way would be to shell out £150 - but if I could save £100 (and avoid surely being blatantly ripped off in the process) then it might be worth giving the copies a go - assuming of course that they work!
Does anyone have any experience or advice?

I bought an HP inkjet about 5 years and it had a subscription based ink programme. It’s based on usage, you can choose 50 pages a month up to about 400 pages. Change when you want online, it’s carries over unused pages. Before your ink runs out they send you a new genuine cartridge . Only had one cartridge didn’t work and they sent another .

Costs about 1/3 of the shop bought ink, so they say. It certainly feels a lot cheaper. Printers are less than £100.

https://instantink.hpconnected.com/uk/e ... lsrc=aw.ds

[Shaun1983]

Is he a left back?

[TheOriginalLongsider]

The other thing to do is change your printer. Find which ones use the cheapest ink then buy the printer