PRINTER SPARES
Welcome to the Printer Spares section of our store, where you will find our selection of both new and refurbished printer parts. The printer spares and printer components listed here include toners, paper trays and formatter boards. We carry both new and refurbished stock. If you cannot find what you are looking for feel free to contact us and we will do our best to identify the printer spare parts you need.
Finding the correct part
When looking for spare parts for printers. it can sometimes be challenging to identify the correct part that you need. Sometimes the part numbers will be printed or labelled on the printer parts themselves, although in order to access the parts it may be necessary to disassemble part of the printer.
Disassembling the printer of course carries the risk of damage. If you do not feel comfortable to do this or do not have access to the printer you will have to find the information elsewhere. Many printer manufacturers carry information regarding the spare parts for printers that they sell. This can take the form of service guides or manuals that are available online, or alternatively the manufacturer can be contacted to find out the correct part numbers for the parts required.
Unlike desktop PCs where a lot of components are built to adhere to certain form factors and standards, printer parts are likely to be specific to a printer model or range and will not be interchangeable.
If you are still unable to identify the printer components needed please feel free to contact us and we will do our best to assist you.
Cost saving
Often problems that prevent a printer functioning will be caused by a single part that can be replaced. This represents a considerable cost saving when compared to buying a new printer as well as reducing the amount of e-waste produced, lowering your environmental footprint.
Should I buy new or refurbished printer parts?
Whether you should buy new or refurbished printer parts depends on a few factors. The first is budgetary. Refurbished printer parts are likely to cost less than new ones, so if you are looking to reduce costs they may be a better option.
If reliability is the most important concern then new printer spares are generally likely to offer the longest lifespan. They often also come with a manufacturer’s warranty ensuring the cost of a replacement or repair is covered.
The availability of printer parts is likely to vary based on the age of the printer or printers you have. Newer printers will usually have available brand new printer spares online for you to purchase. As the printer ages the manufacture of new parts for it may be discontinued and finding refurbished printer spares online may be the only option for parts.
Can I install printer spare parts myself or do I need to a technician to do it?
This depends on the part in question as well as your experience and competence with regards to maintaining printers, laptops and similar items. As incorrectly taking apart a printer can cause damage, we would recommend consulting a professional if unsure.
A good place to start is the maintenance manual for the machine. Some printer components are much easier to replace than others and the manual should guide your through the process. Easier to replace printer spares can sometimes include the paper trays (where additional ones can often be added), waste collection units, fusers and rollers. Some printer parts have a predictably limited lifespan and often this is taken into account with regards to the ease of replacing them.
What are the common types of printer spares that I can buy?
Whilst printer parts are generally unique to each printer model, they often fall into one of the common categories below:
Drive Motors– Controls the movement of one or more printer components such as the print head.
Formatter Boards- These printer components convert data received into a printable format ready to be printed. If a formatter board starts to fail the printer may start being unable to print jobs or have frequent errors.
Fusers- One of the most replaced printer components as it is often only expected to last for a certain number of pages. The fuser bonds the printer toner to the page using heat. When it starts to fail you are likely to see a reduction in print quality including the smearing of toner on printed documents.
Imaging Drum-In a laser printer the drum transfers the toner to the paper prior to it being bonded by the fuser. A drum is normally only expected to last for a certain amount of prints.
Maintenance Kits- A maintenance kit contains printer components that will usually wear out and need replacement. This normally includes the fuser as well as various rollers including pickup and separation rollers.
Mainboard – The central board that controls the overall functionality of the printer, similar to the system board in a PC.
Paper Trays- The tray where paper is loaded. Some printers allow for extra trays to be added.
Power Supply- These printer spares can either be a physical power supply or board. The power supply provides power to the printer, if it malfunctions or stops working the printer will not function.
Printhead– Printheads are crucial printer parts on inkjet printers, they dispense the ink onto the paper when printing. If they clog or otherwise start to degrade you will notice a reduction in print quality.
Scanner- Historically scanners were often a different unit, either desktop based or handheld. Often now a scanner is part of an all in one printer. The scanner unit often needs to be replaced because the glass the document is placed on becomes scratched, with the scratch being visible on scanned documents.
Sub boards – Aside from formatter boards, depending on your printer model it may support a number of other sub boards. These can include boards that allow network connectivity or I/O boards that handle input from USB or other devices.
Transfer Belt- The transfer belt allows the transfer of toner onto the paper when printing.