Fax machine says: Printing Online on its LCD readout but won't print anything. We have replaced the drum and the toner. We can't get the message to clear either

Order a new drum, part number DR520, from an office supply store or Brother (http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/bsc/public_s/id/us/us/en/monolasermfc/mfc8460n_all/c_o/index.html?reg=us&c=us&lang=en&prod=mfc8460n_all&cao=dr ). The drum transfers the toner onto the paper and has a finite lifetime - approx. 25000 pages (1 page/job). Change the drum when the print quality decreases or the message changes to replace drum or drum end.
To replace, open the front cover and remove the drum and toner cartridge assembly (wait until the machine cools if it has been printing). Avoid the electrodes on the assembly. Hold down the lock lever and take the toner cartridge out of the drum unit. Unpack the new drum and put the toner cartridge in the new drum (when it is locked the lever should lift automatically). Place the assembly back in the all-in-one. Do not close the front cover. Press Clear/Back on the control panel. The LCD should ask "Replace Drum?". Use the up/down arrows to select 1. Yes and hit OK. When the LCD shows "Accepted", close the cover.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

Some of these machines will allow you to printe a grey scale test copy.
This will readjust the fax machine back to a nominal mode.
Not knowing how old or how long the machine has been serviced, background can be caused by dirty optics somewhere in the machine.
A remanufactured drum unit can cause this type of problem, (defective unit)
Competitive toner in the toner unit can cause poor copy quality.
Reinstall the old cartrige and see if the problem changes.
Not knowing if the machine has a seperate drum unit and developer housing, it would be hard to answer anything else.

In almost every case, the problem you describe can be traced back to 2 things. Dirty corona wire or dirty drum (or both). Pull out the toner cartridge, slide the wire cleaner back and forth a few times, clean the drum. The gently shake the toner cartridge from side to side to evenly distribute the toner and replace. This should solve your problem. Best of luck.
Greg

Ignoring the Toner Empty Message
When the toner cartridge is empty, the machine shows a “Toner Empty”
message and stops printing.
You can set the machine to ignore the message when it displays and to
continue printing the pages.
1 Press Menu until “Machine Setup” appears on the display.
2 Press the scroll button (�� or ��) until “Ignore Toner” appears on the
bottom line and press Enter.
3 Press the Scroll button (�� or ��) to select “On” or “Off.”
Select “On” to ignore the Toner Empty message.
Select “Off” to stop printing when the message appears. This is the
default setting.
4 Press Enter to save the selection.

All blank pages could either mean: On the scanner side: * Mechanical error, you'll need to perform service on it to reanimate it again. * You can check if it is on the scanner side by printing a test page on the printer. If it prints fine, the problem is in the scanning process.
On the printer side: * Dirty connectors between toner/drum unit and machine. Remove the toner/drum package and clean the metallic cylinders on the left and right side of the toner/drum unit, then reinsert package into machine. * Bad toner and/or drum unit. Replace should solve it. * Mechanical error, you'll need to perform service on it to reanimate it again. * You can check if it is on the printer side by either scanning to a connected PC or sending a fax to someone. If the scanned/faxed page looks fine on the pc/fax that receives the fax, the problem is in the printing process.

I'm more familiar with HP printers, but it sounds like a fuser is bad. The fuser effects print quality as well. If you've replaced the toner, as you have.

try to boot the front cover and clean the glass over the lens

the thermal head, scanner and the body. should be given focus on this problem. if the scanner is not copying well it needs cleaning by wiping the glass part with a alcohol in a cotton bud. if the scanner is really okay then the thermal head is not printing properly so it needs a thermal head replacing . or both are okay. the body is having problem. there must be a dis allignment on the said components. then this is the time to bring your fax machine to the panasonic shop center to do a further check and replace what is needed to be replace.
also try to check if you installed the toner and drum properly by following the installation instruction.
hope this could help you.

There could be a couple reasons. One, it may be the person sending you the fax that has a problem with their machine. The easiest way to find out is, put a clean document in the feeder and make a copy. If the copy is clean then you know it is not a problem with your machine. The other possibility is that when Brother sells these new machines they only provide you with a starter drum and toner. Many times the drum may have defects and the machine does not detect these so you will not get a message telling you to replace it. If you do determine its your machine I would start by replaceing the drum unit first, then the toner.
Good luck
John

Take out the drum and toner and look for dirt or toner on the filter glass inside the fax on the bottom.just under where the drum sits. also clean the drum charger with the blue clip on the drum unit. slide it back and fourth a few times. make sure you snap it back into its place. It also could be the toner cartridge or the drum itself. Lawrence