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I've heard horror stories about off-brand inkjet cartridges, and I'm wondering if similar dangers apply to off-brand toner for laser printers.

I've found online stores with good ratings on Google Shopping, selling discount toner cartridges for mid-to-high-end HP enterprise printers, for a fifth of the price HP charges for the same cartridges.

http://www.graphictoners.com/product-p/gt-cf380x-83a-set.htm?gclid=CN_xyu-x8sYCFdKFfgodDx8Mrw

What's the general consensus on these types of products?
Are they known to be less dangerous to laser printers than off-brand inkjet cartridges?

fixer1234
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Giffyguy
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    There is "dangerous" and there is how well will it work. A leaky cartridge can totally crap up the inside of the printer. Beyond that there's print quality. Toner varies in grain size, color, melting point, etc. If it is not an exact match, print quality can be poor. If it is a color laser, and the off-brand toner works, match all colors from the same source or you may see color shifts. – fixer1234 Jul 23 '15 at 23:59
  • @fixer1234 That's really good advice, especially regarding the color sources for laser printers - thanks for the tip. According to the duplicate question, only %3 of folks complain about leaks or explosions when surveyed across people using generic toner - so I'm not terribly worried about that, so long as I buy from a supplier with good ratings. Regarding grain size and melting point, is there any way I could verify the specifications for the existing name-brand toner (in my printer currently) so I can try to match it? – Giffyguy Jul 24 '15 at 23:50
  • I've never heard of explosions, but leaks are not uncommon. I don't know of a source for the toner specs. If a cartridge gives poor print results, you can try another brand. As long as the cartridge doesn't leak, there shouldn't be much residual old toner. – fixer1234 Jul 25 '15 at 00:15

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I would avoid them from experience on an expensive printer.

A good laser printer toner cartridge will cost more, but will also allow your warranty to stay intact. If I can save $50 a cartridge once a month ($600 annually) but keep 2 year warranty on a $2500 printer, I'd spend that little extra on a better cartridge.

I have had cheap toner cartridges explode.

On the other hand, if I can save $10 on $30 cartridge for a $150 printer, I'll go cheap. Even if it explodes and kills a printer after 10 months, I have still saved %66~ of a replacement.

I'd say: run the math on that model. Replacement cost, consumption / replacement rate etc. If killing a printer (By pure bad luck, and an improbable situation in my experience) is likely cheaper than a long running full priced cartridge replacement cycle...

Austin T French
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    I have due to the costs of ink in the past, just replace the entire printer for less money, then it would have cost to replace the ink with genuine cartridges. – Ramhound Jul 24 '15 at 00:30