FROM : COMPUTER SHOPPER, FEBRUARY 1987, pp. 98,196. AUTHOR : DON LANCASTER SYNERGETICS Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552 (602) 428-4073 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE : TELL ME ABOUT THE $5 TONER CARTRIDGE RELOADS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The toner cartridge used in both the Laserwriter and the Laserjet laser printers cost nearly $100 each and are only good for 2500 copies, giving you an operating toner cost of around four cents per page. Yet, you can easily reload these cartridges up to six or more times, using a three minute process that costs $5 and needs no special tools. If you are the owner of a laser printer, you'll gain dramatically lower toner costs while at the same time producing much blacker images. These blacker images result first because the cartridge itself does not get up to full blackness until after the second or third reload, and second, because the refull toner is usually much blacker than the original. If you do not own a laser printer, this could be an interesting and most profitable sideline business for you, since toner cartridge refills can easily be resold for up to $19 each. First, uou will need a reliable source of refill toner. Three sources that I have found useful are EP-350 refills from any Minolta copier dealer, kits and pads from Laser Printer Products, and wholesale CX toner from Repeat-O-Type. Their CX toner sells in bulk for as little as $5 per refill. Around 170-225 grams of toner (0.4 pound) is needed for each reload. One big gotcha here. It is extermely important to use monocomponent and negative acting toner that is intended specifically for organic drum laser printers. Ordinary copier toner refills most definitely will not work. Two simple modifications have to be made to the cartride for refilling. Note that you do not have to to disassemble the cartridge. What you have to do is add a filling hole to the toner tank and add an emptying hole to the spent toner holding tank. First, pop off the alrge cardboard label by lifting an end with a pocket knife. The toner tank will be under this label. As Figure six (pg. 196) shows us, you melt a 1/2 inch diameter "C" shaped hold in the end of the tank using a soldering iron. Then, while the plastic is still hot, you snap this hold off and trim the bead with a pocket knife. ____ ____ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ³ (()) º ___________________________ ³ º Û ³ º Û | ³ º Û ** Û ÛßßÛ | ³ º Û ÛßßÛ Û Û | ³ º Û ßßßß ß ß | \ º Û \_/ \ º ÛÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ \__________º Û__________________________ º ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ Fig. 6 - Add this hole (**) to the fresh toner tank top. (Note: The label should be upside down) Be very careful to get no plastic chips into the hold and do not under any circumstances sand the hold or use steel wool on it. The actual refilling is done by using a plastic funnel and dumping one bottle of toner into this hole, while tilting and shaking slightly. After refillling, scotch tape the hole shut and replace the label. Add a new label on top of the existing one and write the cartridge history onit. Include the date, the brand of refill, the number of the refull, and any drum defects noted. To provide an emptying hold in the holding tank, turn the cartride upside down and find the area shown in Figure seven. Then, melt a 1/4 inch hold as pictured. This hold edge can be sanded smooth without major problems. ³ ³ ³ ÃÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ ³ ³ ** ³__________________________________________ ___º___º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º Î º º º Î º ÍÍÊÍÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÍÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÊÍÍÍÍÍÊ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ Fig. 7 - Add this hole (**) to the toner tank bottom. (Note: Symbols Î represnt the screws) Finally, go outside and shake the used toner out of this hole. Since there are some baffles in the holding tank, you will have to rock the cartridge back and forth a few times to get rid of all the spent toner. When finished, tape the hole shut with scotch tape. For successive refills, just untape the holding tank, empty and retape. Then untape the fresh toner tank, fill and retape. You should also use the special tool to clean the corona wire at this time. Instead of replacing the fusion wiper pad, just remove the wiper portion of it and lay a new wiper in place. I've found that you can use both the top and bottom surfaces of the new wiper this way. Wipers cost around fifty cents each. Keep the toner cartridge right side up as much as possible while you do your filling. It is definitely not feasible to ship refilled cartridges except by hand carrying. There is absolutely no need to take the cartie apart. But, if you really want to open one, the special screwdriver needed is the #10 tamper proof torx insert bit found in EVCO's 945B700 set. This set is also available at Jensen tools. NAMES & NUMBERS : EVCO Jensen Tools Inc. 3451 Lorna Rd 7815 South 46th St Birmingham, AL 35236 Phoenix, AZ 85044 (205) 822-5381 (602) 968-6231 Laser Printer Products L-COM, Inc 1 Freeman St 1755 Osgood St Sloughton, MA 02072 N. Andover, MA 01845 (617) 341-3005 (617) 682-6936 Open Apple RCA Solid State 10026 Roe Route 202 Overland Pk., KS 66207 Somerville, NJ 08876 (913) 649-9567 (201) 685-6000 Repeat-O-Type 665 State Hwy 23 PO Box 486 Wayne, NJ 07470 (201) 696-3330