This is a subject that we cover with our customers frequently, and one we think is important to blog. When a business is looking to find the best efficiency for the lowest investment, going with compatible toners is a way to cut costs with little impact to their printing performance. We are going to cover what the terms “OEM” and “Compatible” mean. What real differences between the two are. And why in the end, we recommend “compatible” in most situations.

What does OEM & compatible mean?

The first thing we need to address is how we define what is OEM and what is compatible. Let’s start with OEM. The acronym OEM represents ‘Original Equipment Manufacturer.’ This represents that this toner is from the company who also made the machine. Compatible implies that the part is not made by the company who made the machine and are also made with aftermarket cores. Typically the manufacturers of compatible toners are looking to provide a more aggressive price than the OEM as an incentive for taking a risk on buying their product instead of the OEM.

What’s the difference?

Outside of the fact that they are made by two different entities? Not as much as you think. The biggest mistake people often make is assuming that “OEM” also means “new.” This isn’t always the case. Somewhere on most OEM boxes is text that will indicate parts on the toner may have been used from their recycling program. So you could very well be buying a rebuilt aftermarket toner from that company. Rebuilding returned cartridges allows them to keep their cost low since they wont have to make new units. That savings however isn‘t usually passed on to the consumer. You pay the same price regardless if they used parts from their recycle program or if it was a brand new cartridge. Compatibles tend to be significantly cheaper as well. We sell many compatible toners for less than half what an OEM would cost.

So which toner should I buy?

I am always weary of compatible toners found on the internet, even websites like E-Bay or Amazon. You have no idea who is rebuilding them or the quality assurance testing that is going on with them. In instances where you can’t be sure if the compatible cartridge is reliable it’s best to stick with the OEM. M&M Office Products provides both OEM and compatible. We buy compatible toners from reputable companies who we can depend on and will perform good QA testing to make sure the toners are up to standard. We also provide a full 100% guarantee on our compatibles so if they fail for any reason we have you covered.

To find out more about our toners contact us today!