OEM vrs generic toner

**mdavin** · 01-19-2010

I was wondering what some of you think of generic toner. The Ricoh guro here at the shop hates any generic toner he claims that it causes bad copies black backgrounds and makes the machines dirty. I'm a NEC/Minolta tech so I don't know as much about Ricoh as I do NEC/Minolta. I use generic in most NEC/Minolta machines with out any trouble. I ask this cause I've recently been giving the task of ordering parts and I noticed that some generic vrs OEM prices can be as much as a $30 dollar difference, times that by 10 or more and that's a significant savings. But is the savings worth it in the end?

**Jomama46** · 01-19-2010

The real problem with generic toner is that it is inconsistant. Sometimes the particles are too small and it leaks thru the seals, and craps up the interior. One bottle may be OK the next five are bad.
I just dont trust them. OEM for me. Generic toner just adds to the troubleshooting problems.

**Jules Winfield** · 01-19-2010

On some machines the generic toner has way too much wax in it. This gets everywhere inside the machine and causes all kinds of problems. If your intention is to piss off your customers and the technicians who will inevitably have to clean up the mess, then go ahead with generic toner. Oh yeah, and the money you save initially by purchasing generic toner (and then some) will be spent on drums, fusers, dev units that will have to be replaced before their expected lifetime is up.