Every time a warning message appears on your computer screen telling you that your printer's toner level is low, you have a laser toner chip to thank. These chips, also called printer chips or smart chips, are used by printers to monitor the supplies and level of your current toner cartridge. They communicate with your computer when the toner reaches a certain level or if another problem occurs.

What exactly is a cartridge chip?
1. Cartridge chips are devices that communicate with a machine through direct contact or (RF) radio frequency.
2. Usually, they are attached to a small circuit board.
3. They have a memory to store information. They also sometimes have a processor which allows them to give the correct information.
4. It contains cartridge-specific information (So the printer knows that the correct cartridge has been installed). It lists the cartridge yield.

How they work
The toner chips determine levels by calculating the droplets released by your cartridge or the number of ink droplets used to date during printing. The chips are programmed for specific toner designs and will notify us or stop printing once a certain number of drops are used.

Cartridge replacements and refills
Toner cartridges are controversial because it is more difficult to refill printer ink with toner chips. After refilling a cartridge, you must reset or replace the chip before you can print. Our compatible inks and toners have been installed with a new chip in our factory, so you won't have to worry about resetting the chip.

What does “New Chip” or “Second Generation Chip” mean?
Sometimes the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) will upgrade their chips at a certain time during the year, which prevents the old chip from working in new printers. This is why you will notice that some ink or toner models will have a new version of the chip or a second generation chip. Please always purchase new versions of ink or toner cartridges for your printer.

Printers with Chip
Most Brother inks and toners do not have chips. (With the exception of LC103 series ).
Most of HP inks and toners have fleas.
Most of  Canon inks and toners have fleas.

Consumer Issues
We often hear from our customers about issues with toner cartridges not being recognized by smart chips or with chips reporting that their toners are empty but there are still droplets in the cartridge. To avoid this problem, you should always turn off your printer when performing any maintenance or replacing your cartridges. Bad connections or improper installations of new cartridges can also be the cause of its error messages. Reinstalling the cartridge and following your manufacturer's instructions while keeping the printer turned off can resolve these issues.

If you have more questions or need further assistance troubleshooting chip issues, please contact our customer service team by phone at 1-844-767-2278 and by email or chat at info@soscartouches.ca .