Printer Accessories - Originals and Alternatives

Printer accessories - Printer technologies are not the only thing that change over time - the right printer accessories are also available. Over time, manufacturers offer updated versions of their cartridges, cables, paper and other accessories to create combined offerings of affordable and quality products.

Find printer accessories quickly and easily

It is often difficult to keep track of all the ink cartridges, toners and other printer accessories. But with our Prindo cockpit it's easy. All you have to do is enter your printer and you will see all printer accessories at a glance. During your next visit, the selection will be displayed again without having to search.

Overview of printer accessories

It is not always easy to keep track of cartridges, cables, paper, toner and the like. Below is an overview of common printer accessories for a wide variety of printers.

Ink Cartridges

Those who own an inkjet printer must always use inks for printing. In this case, the inks are often referred to as ink cartridges or printer cartridges and can be ordered as OEM cartridges (original cartridges from manufacturers such as HP, Canon, etc.), compatible printer cartridges or refill cartridges. The ink and therefore also the inkjet printer have the advantage that especially photographs can be reproduced very clearly.

But if you use wrong compositions for ink cartridges, you will soon notice that ink can fade. Not all inks are protected against UV rays. Pigmented inks are therefore extremely important when purchasing. Non-pigmented inks are UV-sensitive.

Toner

When operating a laser printer, customers do not pick up the ink cartridge but the toner. The toner describes the colorant used in laser printing. While an ink cartridge contains liquid colorants, the toner contains a fine powder that is applied to the paper at a temperature of almost 200 degrees Celsius during printing.

Toners are insensitive to UV rays, but can lead to a fine dust load with large printing units. In large offices, a fine dust filter on the printer is therefore always necessary. This filter can be found in the accessories. Toner can be ordered as original toner (OEM), compatible toner or rebuilt toner.

Cable

Those who want to equip their printer with suitable printer accessories usually only think of the necessary paper and the respective colour. But cables are also part of the necessary accessories, as long as your printer is not connected to the in-house WLAN. Before purchasing the printer, ask yourself whether you want to connect it to your computer in the classic way or whether the device is connected via WLAN.

If you use a WLAN connection, your printer does not require a cable, but an integrated WLAN function that can be retrofitted depending on the model. However, you must make sure that the upgrade is supported by your router. If you opt for the cable variant, it is usually a USB cable; the classic parallel or serial printer cables are only rarely in use.

Paper

No paper, no printing - very simple. For most people, however, quality only plays a subordinate role. However, the aim of qualitative paper should be to produce as little abrasion as possible. In this way you protect your printer sustainably and increase its durability. The purchase of high-quality paper therefore pays off for you in the long term.

Other printer accessories

If you do not want to connect your printer to WLAN or to a classic cable, you have the option of sending the print job via USB stick. In this case, your printer needs a USB port.

The Right Print Cartridge for Your Inkjet Printer

OEM, compatible or would you prefer Refill? The selection of cartridges for printers is large. There are some worlds between the different types, because they differ not only in their type, but also in their price.

Original cartridges (OEM)

These cartridges were produced by the manufacturer who also introduced the printer to the market. Not only the quality of these cartridges is high, but also the price. Although the price is a little higher, this is actually reflected in the quality, where absolutely nothing can be exposed. The accuracy of fit is first class and the results are impressive.

Rebuilt cartridges

The Right Print Cartridge for Your Inkjet Printer
OEM, compatible or would you prefer Refill? The selection of cartridges for printers is large. There are some worlds between the different types, because they differ not only in their type, but also in their price.

Compatible cartridges

As the name suggests, these types of cartridges are compatible with your printer. Matching cartridges do not always have to be supplied by the manufacturer himself. There are many companies that specialize in cartridges that are cheaper, but still compatible with your device.

However, the differences in quality can partly vary, because not every "imitated" cartridge variant also convinces in terms of quality. Compatible cartridges are usually referred to as "China imitations" - so be careful when buying them.

However, top manufacturers like Prindo offer the highest quality compatible printer cartridges.

Refill cartridges

These cartridges do not replace the entire cartridge, only the ink. The refill cartridge is thoroughly cleaned before the new ink is filled. The result may leave something to be desired, as the grained colour pigments can cause print heads to clog.

Toner for laser printer

Those who own a laser printer do not need classic ink cartridges for this device, but modern toners instead.

Here, too, the following applies: The toners of the respective printer manufacturer offer the best fitting accuracy and quality, but mostly also at the highest price. Here, too, the trade offers numerous alternatives that are compatible with laser printers, also perfectly fitting and of high quality, but also inexpensive.

Original toner

Original toners are delivered directly from the manufacturer and are always first-class tuned to the respective laser printer. Customers benefit from the so-called OEM toner usually from a longer service life, even if the purchase prices are somewhat higher in comparison. OEM toners can print up to 10,000 pages, while third-party toners rarely reach such numbers.

Compatible toners

As the name suggests, this is a toner unit supplied by a third party. Compatible toners are generally cheaper than OEM toners, but quality is not always guaranteed. Companies from China, in particular, tend to use inferior color particles, which means that images, graphics and documents cannot be printed sharply enough. It can also happen that laser printers do not always recognize third-party toners. Manufacturers of printers want to protect themselves against the use of compatible toners.

Rebuilt toner

Rebuilt toners or recycled toners are toner modules that are subsequently disassembled, cleaned and refilled. Filling cartridges is then called the rebuilt process and is often cheaper than buying a complete new toner. Within Germany, there is an industry standard that allows toners to be recycled a maximum of four times.

Damage to the interior and the material must be prevented, otherwise toner may not be sold as rebuilt modules again. Based on this standard, customers can be sure that the print quality of rebuilt toners is guaranteed. During this process, the cartridges are completely disassembled, cleaned, wear parts replaced and replaced with new parts. New toner particles are then inserted. By dismantling, manufacturers can guarantee a certain quality standard.

Advantages and disadvantages of manufacturer and alternative products

Anyone who buys printer cartridges and toner cartridges from manufacturers (HP, Canon, Brother, Samsung etc.) who have also designed the printer and brought it to market benefits from

  • of the highest quality
  • The most precise fit, but unfortunately also has to live with the highest price.

With alternative cartridges you may, however, ask about

  • a reasonable price
  • also a good quality
  • and a good fit are happy

Only drawback:

With the manufacturers of alternative colour products, the wheat separates from the chaff - there are many good suppliers who offer just as good a quality as brand manufacturers. However, there are also outliers who - as in any other sector - reduce the average quality.

Which printer cartridge is best suited for your printer is often determined by your wallet. If you want to invest, original ink or toner cartridges are always a good choice. If you want to save money but still maintain good quality, alternative models are also a good choice - but keep in mind the specific comparisons and opinions of other customers.

The printer accessories products of our own brand Prindo belong to the recycled alternative products and are characterised by high-quality printing results as well as a very good price-performance ratio.

Printer Accessories: Image Drum

It is a wearing part on most common brand printers and must therefore be replaced regularly: The image drum, also known as the photoconductor drum, OPC drum or printer drum, is one of the most important components of a laser printer. In combination with toner and mechanical elements, it converts negative and positive charges into a printed image and applies the toner powder to the paper.

It is constantly in motion and exposed to changing electrical charges. A distinction is made between three variants, each of which is matched to the laser model: Disposable image drums, semi-permanent and permanent image drums.

The disposable image drum (disposable image drum)

Most laser printers work with so-called disposable image drums, which consist of a combination of toner, developer and image drum. They are also known as developer units and must be completely replaced when the toner powder is used up. Manufacturers such as HP, Samsung, Canon, Lexmark and Xerox use this system on many of their laser models.

Advantage:
The user doesn't have to worry about the right image drum - just replace the toner cartridge with a new one as usual. The good encapsulation also means that hardly any toner dust can escape.

Disadvantage:
From an ecological point of view, the principle is not very environmentally friendly; after all, waste is generated with every toner replacement. However, there are now many contact points where the metal and plastic parts used in the development unit are returned to the recycling cycle - for example, our in-house recycling service. It goes without saying that such compact developer units are more expensive than separate image drums and toners. However, every thought about the care of the drum unit is also taken care of.

The semi-permanent image drum

This technology separates the toner and drum units. Semi-permanent image drums, which are less susceptible to wear than disposable image drums, are replaced independently of the toner change. Depending on the model and manufacturer, they must be replaced at the earliest after four toner runs. The fact that a new image drum is due can easily be recognized by the quality of the printout: it then appears less sharply contoured in the typeface, sometimes even blotchy. Most laser devices from Brother, Oki, Konica Minolta and Epson have a semi-permanent image drum.

Advantage:
From an ecological point of view, the principle of the semi-permanent image drum is particularly useful because it wears out much more slowly and can be used longer. In addition, a pure toner cartridge is less expensive than a compact developer unit.

Disadvantage:
When changing toner cartridges, some toner dust can easily escape, because the toner is not completely encapsulated as completely as the ink in the disposable image drums.

The permanent image drum

This drum unit lasts an entire printer's life because its hard, photosensitive coating makes it extremely insensitive. Kyocera is currently the only manufacturer to offer such permanent image drums, which are designed to print an average of 300,000 pages. The target group is primarily users with a high daily print volume.

Advantage:
There is no need to replace the drum unit; time-consuming maintenance work is generally not to be expected.

Disadvantage:
Replacing the image drum can be expensive. In order not to damage it, only original toner or very high-quality alternative toner should be used!

Printer accessories: USB and network cables

Even if most users today use a WLAN connection: The cable is still the safest and most reliable way to control the printer. But most devices don't come with a cable when you buy them, so you'll have to buy it separately.

  • The printer can be connected directly to the output device via a USB cable without an intermediate router. Some printers run via WLAN, but require a direct USB connection for certain processes (such as scanning). The most common type of USB cable is the one with a type A USB connector at one end (for the PC/laptop) and a type B USB connector at the other end (for the printer).

  • If the printer has an Ethernet interface, the Ethernet network cable (usually the RJ-45 variant) is also a sensible purchase. With it, the printer can be connected directly to the router and used as a network printer.

The advantage:
All functions of the device are available to the participants in the local network. Many users also appreciate the fact that network cables are practically tap-proof - WLAN and power connections, on the other hand, have to be encrypted.

Printer accessories: Printer paper

The choice of printer paper also depends on the type of printer: Both inkjet printers and laser devices can cope well with standard printer and copier paper, which has a grammage of 80g/m2. With the normal feed, they can usually use papers up to 100 g/m². However, the models react differently to the properties of the papers:

  • Inkjet printers work with liquid ink, which runs along the paper fibres on very simple copying paper. This can reduce the sharpness of the printed image. Inkjet printers therefore achieve the best results on papers with a very absorbent surface.

  • Laser printers, on the other hand, print pages completely with heat and often achieve better print quality on "normal" copy paper than inkjet printers.

This is why, in addition to universal papers, there are also papers that are only suitable for inkjet printers ("inkjet paper") or only for laser printers ("coated laser printing paper"). Which types of paper are recommended for your own printer can be seen in the manufacturer's specifications.

Photo paper for printers

Those who value good photo prints usually use an inkjet printer that traditionally delivers the best results in the field of photo printing. The photo paper intended for this purpose is coated on one side and is offered in many variants: For attributes ranging from high-gloss to matt, it is primarily your own taste that is in demand.

However, there are also special coatings - microporous (fine-pored) or swelling - which are oriented to the type of ink. While dye inks provide good print images on both types of paper, pigment inks are best suited to microporous photographic paper.

Whether the paper is microporous or swelling is not apparent from most packs. However, specifications such as "instant dry" or "fast drying" are mostly microporous paper. Play it safe with the papers of the printer manufacturers themselves: They are basically matched to the type of printer ink used! The paper thickness varies from 120 to 300 g/m².

Photos on the laser printer are also possible. Photo paper for inkjet printers should not be used - all too often the high temperatures of the laser printer are not compatible with the sensitive coating. There are different types of photo paper especially suitable for laser printers, which are very temperature resistant. They are usually not quite as thick as those used for inkjet printing (around 200 g/m²), but they bring out the colours brilliantly.

The quality of the paper - not always decisive

For a simple printout, for example to prepare a meeting or to file a recipe, it is not necessarily important how high-quality the paper used is. If, on the other hand, you want to print applications or other important documents, you should also have high-quality paper ready. The choice is whether you have an inkjet printer or a laser printer? Depending on the variant, different paper types are used. Universal printer paper does not require any special quality requirements.

However, if you want to print important things, the paper should be as strong and stable as possible (but not too thick). For photos, on the other hand, there is special photo paper. You should also note that not every paper is suitable for double-sided printing - and not every printer supports double-sided printing.

Printer Accessories: Cleaning Kits for Printers

If your printer is dirty and the automatic cleaning program does not help (or only uses expensive ink), a cleaning kit is often the best choice.

  • Clogged printheads or nozzles often cause trouble with inkjet printers. The blame lies with viscous ink, fibres and dust: although these can also be removed with distilled water or isopropyl alcohol, the special nozzle and print head cleaners available on the market usually clean the print heads more gently and efficiently.

  • Thanks to special cleaning sets, the cleaning of laser printers does not require much effort either. Such sets contain particularly fine cleaning cloths and sticks, some of which are soaked with cleaning fluid. They can be used to gently remove deposits of toner and paper dust from the inside of the printer. On the other hand, a cleaning kit for lasers often also contains cleaning paper, which is used to clean the printer roller: The specially coated sheets gently remove toner residues and clean the paper paths.

Popular manufacturers of qualitative printer accessories-parts

If you want to use an original accessory part, you should take a look at the corresponding companies. These are not always cheap, but at least of high quality, which in turn justifies the price. We can particularly recommend the following companies when it comes to printers and printer accessories:

  • Canon
  • Epson
  • Samsung
  • HP
  • Lexmark
  • Brother

The offer is varied and apart from Canon, Epson, Samsung, HP, Lexmark and Brother there are numerous other companies which offer printer cartridges and other accessories in the trade. Depending on which brand your printer is or which model you have bought, the accessories will be different. In addition, the type of device also plays a decisive role.

An inkjet printer needs a different accessory than a laser printer. For this reason, the offer in the online shop is extensive and sorted according to category. Thus the printer ink and the further accessories, which are suitable for the own device, are found fast and simply.

Further printer accessories for the printer

Not only computers, faxes, scanners, 3D printers and the like need suitable accessories, but also the classic printer for the office or private office is equipped with much more than a toner or ink. Beside these common accessories you can also buy them:

  • Printer cable
  • printer paper
  • ink ribbons
  • printheads
  • drum units
  • transfer units
  • maintenance kits
  • waste toner container
  • Ink maintenance tanks
  • fixing units
  • fine dust filter
  • developer units
  • duplex units
  • printer stand