Drum/Toner: As we will mention throughout all of these updated tech-tips, for the first time in our eight-year history, we are now using our own private sources of supplies in the remanufacturing of toner cartridges. The reasons for this principally revolve around quality and consistency. We have now switched over to Laser Group toner and developer for the best combination of print density and cartridge life. While we have tested other combinations which produced either darker prints or longer cartridge life, we have not found a combination of toner and developer which produces a better combination of density and cartridge life.

Drum Coatings: Now for the most unusual news we have ever reported on a toner cartridge in our nine years of experience: We have been successfully using a drum coating in-house which has significantly improved the life of the OPC drum, while not affecting the print-quality or cartridge life. This coating is easily applied using nothing more exotic than cotton balls prior to each use and can preserve the OEM drum to the extent that it can be used for one or two uses (we have actually seen the OEM go four uses in house, but would not recommend pushing it that far in your customer's cartridges).

The Laser Group Drum Treatment (LGDT) has shown us that when used from day one on a long-life replacement drum, it can also significantly prolong its life, as well. The exact number of uses the LGDT treated long-life drum will go before wearing out increase by at least 25 - 50%. (Again, in the lab we have seen amazing increases in the longevity of long-life drums when using the LGDT.)

The only caveat we have at this point with regard to the Laser Group Drum Treatment is: DO NOT BE CHEAP! If you find you get one or two solid additional uses out of the OEM OPC or two to three additional uses out of a new, long-life OPC, be grateful. But, do not go overboard in your efforts to reduce the cost of the replacement drums. The only time you want your customer to come back is when the cartridge is empty and when they have a smile on their face from a good experience (NEVER SOONER). If your personal experience shows that a long-life drum can be used another two or three times, lean toward the more conservative second additional use rather than going for three additional uses. Keep in mind that even a single additional use of either the OEM or a long-life drum will significantly improve your profit margins.

Miscellaneous Notes: Be aware that Sharp and Xerox are doing their best to keep their customers loyal to their particular Z50 configuration by slightly modifying their cartridges so they will only fit their machines. Small pins or different waste hopper styles prevent these cartridges from being swapped from one machine to the other. Although this is not a problem if you remanufacturer the customer's own cartridge and return it to him, it is a problem if you "pool" your cartridges (as we do). Even though all the Z50 cartridges are fundamentally the same and are recharged in exactly the same way, it is best to remanufacture the customer's own cartridge and return it to them to avoid any mismatch problems where the cartridge doesn't fit.

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PLEASE NOTE: We are always ready, willing and able to provide technical support to any of our trainees on any of the cartridges we have taught them to remanufacture. In order to make your interaction with tech support as productive and beneficial as possible, we make two assumptions: We assume that you have followed our procedures to the letter and used the supplies we recommended during the remanufacturing process. If a cartridge is remanufactured in a manner other than what we prescribe or with supplies other than the ones we recommend, the extent of our technical support can only be "generic" in nature, since we will have no firsthand experience with either the methods or supplies in question. In addition, we assume that you have already done your "swaps" (as outlined in the troubleshooting section for each cartridge) and that you will be able to answer questions based on the results of those swaps before you call and ask for help. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

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