I am Again Seeking Recs for 3rd Party Toner Carts

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TrvlBug

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Bought Canon Imageclass MF743cdw color laser printer to replace the MF733cdw. We had 2 of those and they were both wonky and bit the dust after a couple of years. Stupid, stupid, we stayed with Canon and bought their next gen which was a huge mistake.

4inkjets which made great 3rd party toner for our MF733 Canons doesn't make them for the 743. My guess is because the 743 has a chip in it. Went with Greensky 3rd party toner which was junk. Am now needing to buy replacement toner again and am seeking recommendations. Looked into the toner refill products and apparently they are not available for the 743. Apparently Canon has gotten smart and is making it difficult to buy 3rd party.

This will be our last Canon. When it bites the dust, will be looking at other brands and may go back to a b&W laser and color inkjet although hate the desktop real estate 2 printers would take up.

Amazon has several vendors, however, the 1 star ratings had the same issues as the Greensky, lousy print quality. It prints so light you can barely see it and the color rendition is beyond awful. Thanks for any recommendations.
 
We have Brother ink-jets at each home.. not the exact same model but pretty close. We've had them for many years and they have served us well. We buy replacement ink on Amazon for about $12.
 
I have had Brother B&W laser printers for years. Love them.

Used to use Brother ink (about $75/cartridge).

Based on favorable comments on a forum thread, I switched to Linkyo ink cartridges (~$12/ea) and am happy to report zero issues after a year (or more) of use.

omni
 
We've had good luck with our Canon MX920 inkjet AIO printer. Much better than our previous Epsons. We buy ink on Amazon, 4 sets of cartridges (24x) for 20 bucks. WE've never gotten into laser printers.
 
Another recommendation for the Brother laser printer.
I had a Samsung prior to that and it just lasted a year, the Brother is going on for 4 years now and works very well.
 
So what is the reason that the third party replacements don't work? Do you know? Is it because the printer manufacturer has updated their firmware so that 3rd party cartridges are rejected?

My experience with HP may also be your problem. We own an HP 8710 inkject 3 in 1 printer. The printer worked flawlessly until I replaced the original cartridges with a third party product on the Amazon website which did not work. I got a refund but in researching other alternatives I saw that a different 3rd party manufacturer advertised that their cartridges had "the new chip" which solve the non manufacturer cartridge problem. I bought them and they worked fine. I then needed to replace those due to low ink and the replacements, that I had bought LAST year did not work. They were rejected as non HP. I checked the same 3rd party site again and discovered that their new cartridges had again been updated with new chips because HP had updated firmware. That 3rd party manufacturer sent me new updated replacement cartridges which work fine. The Amazon site with their replacement cartridges advises that you configure your printer to never update firmware, to avoid this problem!

My conclusion, with a lot of confirmation from internet research is that the printer manufacturers make most of their profit from ink and not the printer itself. They "update firmware" to reject non Manufacturer cartridges in order to force the user to use their products. They make even more money when they upsell you their e ink monthly subscriptions which are ridiculously expensive.

Solution: Configure your settings to "Not Update firmware".
 
Golden sunsets said:
So what is the reason that the third party replacements don't work? Do you know? Is it because the printer manufacturer has updated their firmware so that 3rd party cartridges are rejected?

My experience with HP may also be your problem. We own an HP 8710 inkject 3 in 1 printer. The printer worked flawlessly until I replaced the original cartridges with a third party product on the Amazon website which did not work. I got a refund but in researching other alternatives I saw that a different 3rd party manufacturer advertised that their cartridges had "the new chip" which solve the non manufacturer cartridge problem. I bought them and they worked fine. I then needed to replace those due to low ink and the replacements, that I had bought LAST year did not work. They were rejected as non HP. I checked the same 3rd party site again and discovered that their new cartridges had again been updated with new chips because HP had updated firmware. That 3rd party manufacturer sent me new updated replacement cartridges which work fine. The Amazon site with their replacement cartridges advises that you configure your printer to never update firmware, to avoid this problem!

My conclusion, with a lot of confirmation from internet research is that the printer manufacturers make most of their profit from ink and not the printer itself. They "update firmware" to reject non Manufacturer cartridges in order to force the user to use their products. They make even more money when they upsell you their e ink monthly subscriptions which are ridiculously expensive.

Solution: Configure your settings to "Not Update firmware".
Click to expand...

The chip is not the problem. The 3rd party provides info as well as tweezers on placing the Canon chips into their carts. The only thing the chips do is provide a page count which I couldn't care less about. The 3rd party toner is supposed to work without the chips and it does. When I replaced the original carts with the 3rd party, I got a notification that these were counterfeit. I said okie dokey and continued.

For some reason the print quality sucks. I just ordered replacement carts from 'Cool Toner' as they didn't have any reviews about the lousy print quality. Additionally, a reviewer on the Greensky carts mentioned his/her success with 'Cool Toner'. Will see what happens. I refuse to pay ~$150 for the canon carts (1 cart that is!!!) as I print a LOT of b&w, replacing the cart every couple of months or so. If i can't find a good vendor, the Canon will go to the recycler.

And, yes, I recalibrated the colors, so that's not the problem either.
 
Don't allow/ accept Printer firmware updates!

Golden sunsets said:
Configure your printer to never update firmware, to avoid this problem!

My conclusion, with a lot of confirmation from internet research is that the printer manufacturers make most of their profit from ink and not the printer itself. They "update firmware" to reject non Manufacturer cartridges in order to force the user to use their products. They make even more money when they upsell you their e ink monthly subscriptions which are ridiculously expensive.

Solution: Configure your settings to "Not Update firmware".
Click to expand...

+1000

Happened to me years ago... received a firmware update notice in the middle of printing some documents. Accepted it and the firmware update "bricked" the print cartridges!
 
I've had no problems with HP CP2025 (Color) or Canon MF4350D (B/W), both in use for more than 10 years. I always use manufacturer cartridges and print at will with high quality.
 
target2019 said:
I've had no problems with HP CP2025 (Color) or Canon MF4350D (B/W), both in use for more than 10 years. I always use manufacturer cartridges and print at will with high quality.
Click to expand...
That's the whole point. To not to have to use the manufacturer's cartridges. A pack of 4(3 colors plus black) HP brand for my printer costs $99. 3rd party manufacturers charge $33 for the same product with similar print quality.
 
target2019 said:
I've had no problems with HP CP2025 (Color) or Canon MF4350D (B/W), both in use for more than 10 years. I always use manufacturer cartridges and print at will with high quality.
Click to expand...

Golden sunsets said:
That's the whole point. To not to have to use the manufacturer's cartridges. A pack of 4(3 colors plus black) HP brand for my printer costs $99. 3rd party manufacturers charge $33 for the same product with similar print quality.
Click to expand...
Yes, I did understand that you're saving money by going in that direction. What I was saying is that using OEM, in my case, has worked for the long run.

Of course nothing is forever, and companies go out of business. I know that HP and Canon have served me well in many areas. They still manufacture carts for my older printers, and I do not see a reason to try re-manufactured.

BTW, I'm paying a lot more for color toner carts for the HP laser, and it doesn't bother me at all. Same for the Canon laser. I've had no breakdowns, and always get the print I expect.
 
target2019 said:
Yes, I did understand that you're saving money by going in that direction. What I was saying is that using OEM, in my case, has worked for the long run.

Of course nothing is forever, and companies go out of business. I know that HP and Canon have served me well in many areas. They still manufacture carts for my older printers, and I do not see a reason to try re-manufactured.

BTW, I'm paying a lot more for color toner carts for the HP laser, and it doesn't bother me at all. Same for the Canon laser. I've had no breakdowns, and always get the print I expect.
Click to expand...

I don't think your comments are helpful in that they don't address the thread question on 3rd party cartridges for the Cannon model he owns.

OTOH, I have no info on Cannon 3rd party cartridges and seeing that the OP hasn't posted in response, I think I at least will not bother to respond further.
 
Last edited:
OP here. Appreciate all the replies. Unfortunately, I print a LOT of b&w, mostly KenKens!!! A high yield cart lasts me approximately 2-3 months and Canon's $ is $150+ which is not acceptable. The color carts will last me years, however, even the non-high yield are $120+ each. The print quality of the Greensky is simply unacceptable and those color carts need to be replaced. Will see what happens with the Cool Toner brand I ordered and go from there.

The other problem with 2 printers, one b&w laser and color inkjet, is that I don't print color that often and experience 'expired' ink. I wouldn't mind getting OEM carts if the price were more reasonable and maybe the answer is another brand.
 
target2019 said:
I've had no problems with HP CP2025 (Color) or Canon MF4350D (B/W), both in use for more than 10 years. I always use manufacturer cartridges and print at will with high quality.
Click to expand...

Golden sunsets said:
That's the whole point. To not to have to use the manufacturer's cartridges. A pack of 4(3 colors plus black) HP brand for my printer costs $99. 3rd party manufacturers charge $33 for the same product with similar print quality.
Click to expand...

target2019 said:
Yes, I did understand that you're saving money by going in that direction. What I was saying is that using OEM, in my case, has worked for the long run.

Of course nothing is forever, and companies go out of business. I know that HP and Canon have served me well in many areas. They still manufacture carts for my older printers, and I do not see a reason to try re-manufactured.

BTW, I'm paying a lot more for color toner carts for the HP laser, and it doesn't bother me at all. Same for the Canon laser. I've had no breakdowns, and always get the print I expect.
Click to expand...

Golden sunsets said:
I don't think your comments are helpful in that they don't address the thread question on 3rd party cartridges for the Cannon model he owns.

OTOH, I have no info on Cannon 3rd party cartridges and seeing that the OP hasn't posted in response, I think I at least will not bother to respond further.
Click to expand...
Re-reading the 14 posts in this thread I have not seen a recommendation for a 3rd party Canon toner cartridge. Eventually someone will have a recommendation, but until then most are making comment on what they do to deal with the difficult choices about laser toner cartridge cost.

BTW the OP has a Canon laser, not an inkjet.
 
TrvlBug said:
OP here. Appreciate all the replies. Unfortunately, I print a LOT of b&w, mostly KenKens!!! A high yield cart lasts me approximately 2-3 months and Canon's $ is $150+ which is not acceptable. The color carts will last me years, however, even the non-high yield are $120+ each. The print quality of the Greensky is simply unacceptable and those color carts need to be replaced. Will see what happens with the Cool Toner brand I ordered and go from there.

The other problem with 2 printers, one b&w laser and color inkjet, is that I don't print color that often and experience 'expired' ink. I wouldn't mind getting OEM carts if the price were more reasonable and maybe the answer is another brand.
Click to expand...
Sorry for interrupting your thread about Canon color laser cartridges.

Your dilemma is similar if not exact to what others have experienced over long time periods. We've purchased various inkjets and they were always problematic. But I've been following some recent threads about newer models and some have innovative tech to avoid the expired ink and other problems.

Like you I have an expensive color laser printer. The cartridge price was about $125 each for HP OEM cartridges. So your Canon carts are an actual burden financially.

Color printing vs. B/W printing has always been a challenge. For that reason I went out and bought a multi-function B/W laser printer at the same time I bought the color laser. It just may be the stop-gap solution you need. I would defintiely look at Brother lasers, as I see them mentioned over and over on this forum.

And to go just a bit further, I had no idea what a Ken Ken was, but now see the attraction. Would you be able to get a cheap tablet, install a Ken Ken app, and do puzzles that way? Just a thought, and I very much hope I haven't strayed too far away from your OP.
 
TrvlBug said:
Bought Canon Imageclass MF743cdw color laser printer to replace the MF733cdw. We had 2 of those and they were both wonky and bit the dust after a couple of years. Stupid, stupid, we stayed with Canon and bought their next gen which was a huge mistake.

4inkjets which made great 3rd party toner for our MF733 Canons doesn't make them for the 743. My guess is because the 743 has a chip in it. Went with Greensky 3rd party toner which was junk. Am now needing to buy replacement toner again and am seeking recommendations. Looked into the toner refill products and apparently they are not available for the 743. Apparently Canon has gotten smart and is making it difficult to buy 3rd party.

This will be our last Canon. When it bites the dust, will be looking at other brands and may go back to a b&W laser and color inkjet although hate the desktop real estate 2 printers would take up.

Amazon has several vendors, however, the 1 star ratings had the same issues as the Greensky, lousy print quality. It prints so light you can barely see it and the color rendition is beyond awful. Thanks for any recommendations.
Click to expand...

I'm in a very similar situation as you with a Cannon LBP622Cdw color laser printer. The printer prints well with Cannon toner cartridges but the printer is a toner hog and cartridges are expensive.

So, after running out of the small amount of starter toner which came with the printer, I went the 3rd party route. 3rd party route mean cheap but also cheap quality results.

I don't have a recommendation but said to myself time to cut my losses and look for another printer.

I've been pouring over printer reviews and price monitoring for about the past year. Think I may get one of the tank type inkjets. But I'm at a wait and see position because of mixed reviews and also seems now is not the best time to look for a printer as prices are up I assume due to so many people working from home and home schooling.

I do have a trusty old B&W Samsung laser multi-function unit so at least can still print as I wait, and wait :popcorn:.
 
I did notice there were no recs for 3rd party toner vendors!!! As I mentioned in my original post, I was very happy with 4inkjets, however, currently, the carts for my printer are not available and they have no idea when they will be. As we bought the printer about 6 months ago, I don't want to get rid of it...not to mention it's about 40 pounds and huge and in the 2nd story office :facepalm:.

Prior to going color laser, I had b&w Brother and was very happy with it. Also had HP 3 in 1 inkjet for color printing. Just got tired of the real estate for 2 printers. Liked the Canon because of the large touch screen. I also copy a couple of Sudokus from the local paper every morning as both DH and I like doing them, so touch screen comes in handy. WRT to KenKens, I do the 7s on line. The 9s, which are my favorite as they are much more challenging, are too difficult to do online because of the numerous possibilities, so have to print them out.

I'm also thinking of keeping the current printer until it dies, buying OEM carts and only using it for color printing (seldom needed) and getting a Brother or other b&w for the bulk of my printing needs.

The 3rd party Cool Toner carts are supposed to arrive Friday or Saturday (thanks Amazon for Prime taking much more than 2 days :mad:). I'll update with my experience.
 
Do “expired” OEM cartridges w*rk well your printer:confused: If so, what about getting new in box, but out of date or nearly out of date cartridges from eBay?

I do this on my pro grade Epson inkjet with great results. Even buying fresh cartridges, they go “expired” anyway after 2 years since I don’t print enough. No complaints from the epson software & print quality remains the same even with 5-8 year old cartridges.

“Expired” eBay OEM is half or less in price compared to fresh from amazon without any issues. Not sure about Canon or laser though. W*rked so we’ll, I never considered fooling with 3rd party.
 
FreeBear said:
Do “expired” OEM cartridges w*rk well your printer:confused: If so, what about getting new in box, but out of date or nearly out of date cartridges from eBay?

I do this on my pro grade Epson inkjet with great results. Even buying fresh cartridges, they go “expired” anyway after 2 years since I don’t print enough. No complaints from the epson software & print quality remains the same even with 5-8 year old cartridges.

“Expired” eBay OEM is half or less in price compared to fresh from amazon without any issues. Not sure about Canon or laser though. W*rked so we’ll, I never considered fooling with 3rd party.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't hesitate for toner because toner never expires or gunks like inkjet carts do. However, even at half price, way too pricey. OEM high yield (all 4 carts) for my printer if $600+. 3rd party is about $110. Just checked ebay and all OEM are $600+ with no listing for expired ones. They had lots of 3rd party with pricing same as Amazon.
 
I usually shop Staples. That's how I roll.

Standard yield (2,500) Canon 055 laser cartridges are $100 for color, $85 for black.
The High yield (7,500) Black toner cartridge is $200.
25% back in rewards when you purchase toner. That may be an online thing that disappears real fast...

I then use Amex card for 5% cash back on office supplies.
 
Just installed the Cool Toner carts this morning and much, much better than the previous 3rd party ones, however, I don't think the color is quite up to OEM standards, but acceptable for my needs. Still hoping 4inkjets will make carts for my printer soon as I was very, very pleased with their product.
 
I decided to give a try with another 3rd party toner for my Cannon Color laser printer. Company name of GPC.

Just ordered from Amazon a shot moment ago. Should arrive tomorrow. The jury is out whether all the rave reviews of that toner is true or if I'm just getting false hope.
 
easysurfer said:
I decided to give a try with another 3rd party toner for my Cannon Color laser printer. Company name of GPC.

Just ordered from Amazon a shot moment ago. Should arrive tomorrow. The jury is out whether all the rave reviews of that toner is true or if I'm just getting false hope.
Click to expand...

Well, the Cool Toner worked for a short while until the yellow bled all over the place and the printer started making horrible grinding sounds and then funny smell. We bought a Brother color laser and will set it up in a day or so. If I decide on their OEM carts, they are a lot cheaper, toner content size, than the Canons and 4inkjets carry the ones I need :dance:.

No more Canon products for us. We migrated to other brands when we bought a couple of cameras for travel.
 
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