About Cartridges

Consumers are generally not aware that it takes at least 2 ounces of oil to produce a new inkjet cartridge, and more than 3/4 of a gallon to produce a laser cartridge. The plastic used in many cartridges takes centuries (450 years) to begin and 1000 years to completely decompose.          The consumer is becoming aware that the difference in the cost of refilling ink jet cartridges and buying new is amazing. Naturally you can refill the cartridge much cheaper than you can buy a new one, an ink jet cartridge can be filled at least two to more than six times before they wear out.          Recycled cartridges work with all makes and models Apollo, Apple, Brother, Canon, Compaq, Dell, Epson, Hewlett Packard (HP), Lexmark, Pitney Bowes, Xerox and dozens of other brands of printers.          We believe that you will find that consumers purchasing cartridges through Cartridge Club USA will save a real 50% from the cost of new cartridges. Generally today the savings have ranged from 20% to 40% with 40% being the very high end maximum and very rare. Generally the actual savings are around 30%.          Toner cartridges for laser printers, photocopiers and plain paper fax machines can not be refilled, they must be “remanufactured”. The cartridges are completely dismantled and cleaned, any worn parts are replaced and then they are refilled with fresh toner. The number of remanufactured cartridges sold now exceeds 15,000,000 each year! And the market for NEW laser cartridges in addition exceeds 179,000,000 cartridges each year. We believe this is an industry with a tremendous growth potential.          The unique part of Cartridge Club is our “delivery service” catering primarily to business users, who do not have the time to run to the store and search for a replacement cartridge for their printing needs.  Just a phone call to the Cartridge Club local franchise or company owned store and a quality remanufactured cartridge will be pulled from our extensive stock on hand and delivered that day or the following business day.  In the event that we do not have a particular cartridge in stock the customers cartridge, can be remanufactured and delivered the same or next business day. With our unique marketing plan we anticipate that the consumer will actually save a real 50% over the cost of New.

Note: Of the over 179,000,000 new cartridges sold each year only a small percentage of those are recycled.  So most are still thrown into our landfills as waste!

Recycling toner cartridges has become a popular practice for many businesses that want to improve the environment as well as their bottom line. Discarded toner cartridges have a devastating effect on the environment: toner cartridges are responsible for more than 7 percent of the nation’s annual waste. Think about it; more than 80,000 tons of solid waste is created each year from cartridges sold in the U. S. alone. That means that 90 percent of the 179 million cartridges are thrown away when they are empty, and the plastic used in each printer cartridge takes more than 10 centuries to decompose. But, each recycled laser cartridge conserves approximately three quarts of oil. So in just seven months, cartridge recycling saves over 11 million gallons of oil!          Businesses that think green and recycle their toner cartridges also see a green in a different shade, as in greenbacks. These businesses know that unnecessary pollution is a sure sign of inefficiency. On average, you can save as much as 20 to 50 percent by returning your empty cartridges and purchasing recycled or remanufactured ones.          This means that you can buy that $100 toner cartridge for your laser printer for $50 from a Cartridge Club USA franchised store, or dealer, or our free delivery service. Depending on the quantity of cartridges a consuming company uses, these saving can amount to thousands of dollars each year. And even if they don’t want to use remanufactured cartridges, they can still chip in by returning their spent cartridges to their local Cartridge Club USA store, or have our representative pick it up.          The recycled cartridges industry is relatively new; most remanufactures began recycling toner cartridges in the late 1980s. These businesses discovered that producing quality remanufactured products was difficult without a long-life drum. This all changed in 1991 with the release of the long-life drum for the SX cartridge.          But in 10 years, only 33 percent of American businesses have used recycled toner supplies. However, the EPA, which in 1997 claimed that, remanufactured toner cartridges were as good as new ones, now requires all federal agencies to use remanufactured cartridges.          Another reason recycled cartridges are underrepresented in the mainstream is the misconception that using recycled toner cartridges voids copier and printer warranties. The Magnuson Moss Warranty Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act stipulates that manufacturers cannot legally require a consumer to purchase supplies exclusively from them. However, purchasing remanufactured supplies may nullify dealer service agreements.          Another popular fallacy is that recycled toner cartridges are inferior to new cartridges. This is not exactly true – you just have to know what you’re buying. Many consumers confuse remanufactured toner cartridges with refilled cartridges, which can be problematic.

Refillers simply drill a hole in the cartridge then pour in the toner, hence the derogatory term, “drill and fill.” Aside from being filled with new toner and repackaged, nothing much is done with the cartridge. So refillers’ cartridges are prone to leak and may damage the machine. While drill-and-fill procedure isn’t as common as it was when the remanufacturing industry was just getting off the ground, you don’t have to look hard to find someone who was burnt by a refilled cartridge.

With a combination of 243 million laser and inkjet cartridges ending up in landfill in the USA each year, ink and Laser cartridge recycling is a major way of reducing the mounds of plastic clogging up our dumps. That's more than 200 million pounds of solid waste that could be avoided and as much again in new raw materials that could be saved.          Ink cartridge recycling makes sense on all fronts. Many of the components in these spent cartridges are still useable while some of the components must be disposed of in specific ways for environmental reasons. Leftover ink can pollute the air and water and be harmful to health, while the plastic in the cartridge cases can take 450 years to start degrading and over 1000 years before it fully degrades.          In 2004, more than $10.2 billion worth of ink cartridges were sold in North America alone. Despite the large number of ink cartridges purchased each year, consumers have long complained about the high cost of OEM ink cartridges and looked for alternatives. Today, the market offers consumers more choices than ever before, and Lyra forecasts that the after market’s share of North American ink jet cartridge shipments will grow from about 23 percent in 2004 to 31 percent in 2009.          There is a big difference between a refilled cartridge and one that has been remanufactured. A refilled cartridge has been drilled out and new toner placed inside. Refilled cartridges are usually good for 1 - 2 times after the initial use. Since the drum and other parts are not being replaced this can cause many problems.          A remanufactured cartridge is opened to replace the consumable items such as toner, gears, drum blades and any other parts that need replacing. Once the cartridge has been remanufactured, it is tested to ensure a quality print is achieved.

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