Hi, Matt.  We were talking about - -

 JH> Toner cartridge on my little HP LaserJet 4L finally ran dry a few
 JH> weeks back. I figured it wouldn't cost much to get a refilled
 JH> cartridge.  I called some of the local refillers and got 3 different
 JH> prices, ranging from $51 to $59. New ones at Office Depot and such
 JH> were, of course more - - all of these options were 2 to 3 times as
 JH> much as I paid for the whole printer.  I wasn't pleased.

These prices were probably for "remanufactured" cartridges, not
"refilled" - - see other post.


 JH> Viola -  it worked like a charm.  Prints like a new one now.
 JH> With the shipping and all,  cost less than $15.  I like it.

 MM> THANKS!  I recently picked up an old HP LaserJet III that my dealer
 MM> threw out, and finally got it to print a test page.  Now that I know
 MM> toner can be refilled cheap, I will have to clear out a space for that
 MM> monster!

Its a big 'un, OK.  Heavy-duty workhorse type, esp. compared to some
of the little consumer-grade ones they've made more recently, like my
LJ 4L.

I checked with the Ebay seller where I got the toner, and they don't
sell a refill kit for LJIII.  I emailed and asked them about that, but
haven't heard back yet.  So I did a little research, and here is a
summary of what I found - - the GOOD, the BAD, and the UGLY, in reverse
order.

THE UGLY
Your 92295A cartridge may not be a very good candidate for refill.  I
only found one Ebay seller of refills for those.  See my email and other
post about that.  I think I'd try to get him on that 800 number before I
bought just the toner from him or anyone else.

THE BAD  (maybe not so bad if you don't have either of these probs)

LJIII seems susceptible to paper-jam problems- worn out pick-up rollers
or other.   There is a site - www.fixyourownprinter.com - which lists
common problems by make and model, and sells parts to fix, plus a VCR
video showing the procedure.  Not needed by you, but if you should have
this prob, maybe a good place to go to get the names of the
usual-suspect parts.  I read somewhere else that if you know which parts
you need, replacement pickup rollers and other parts can be obtained at
lower prices by ordering directly from HP website.

Did your test print come out OK?  As my LJ4L toner ran out and prints
got too light, I got a bit more copies out of it by taking the cartridge
out and shaking it from side to side a few times.  That made the prints
nice and dark again,  for a little while.  I dunno if the LJIII has a
separate drum unit or not, but I do remember from my Panasonic 4420 of
about that vintage that a bad drum can also cause poor print quality and
light prints.

THE GOOD

The 92295A cartridge (also called 95A) used by LJII, IID, III and IIID
was used by a number of other printer brands also, even including Apple.
It is compatible with Canon EP-S cartridge.  Others, like Lexmark, make
clones of this cartridge.  Plenty of these cartridges, new HP, new
Canon, new clones and remanufactured,  are available at Ebay - a search
on "92295A" finds well over 100 current auctions.  Some even have "Buy
It Now" prices for under $20. With some patience, I expect you could
come up with a bargain for under $20 for a whole new cartridge, and that
might be attractive compared to taking a chance on the longevity of a
simple refill, esp with that lone toner seller wanting $12 plus $8
shipping for just a toner refill kit.

Good luck, and I'd like to hear later how you did with it. - - -  JimH.

... Hardware Hacker wanted.  Must be very creative and have own grubbin' hoe.
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