OKI C6100 Printer Error Messages: K Toner Empty Y Drum Life

he poor quality in OKI LED color printing might be fallen on one of the following problems:
- Toner is almost running out
- Drum is scratched or its life almost terminated
- Belt is scratched or its life is almost terminated
- Fuser is scratched
- LED Print head is dirty.
Depend on the knowledge and experiences of each person, the solution is solved easily or takes much time or much labor as well as money This is my suggestion that I have learned from my experiences on OKI C3200, C5300, C6100, C330 that I own:
- First, you should have extra printer accessories suchj as toner and drum cartridges (Y,B, C, M) and fuser, belt for reservation. I think you should have them since someday your printer must need them after they reach to their life limitation.
- Test one after one with the good ones. First testwith tonner cartridges. If the test is OK then continue to test drum cartridges. If it is OK then test fuser and so on. Finally if it is OK, then you must look at the LED Printer heads.
Below is the bad print-out:
:After following the steps that we suggest, we found the LED head above the red drum is dirty. Below is the picture after it is clean:

This model OKI printer is not an inkjet printer, it is a color laser printer. and uses color toner cartridges.
The printer image drum unit has reached the end of its service life and this drum unit needs to be replaced.

I suggest you Google the Internet for an OKI image drum unit for your model printer, You will get various suppliers and their prices.
The image drum unit will cost approx. A$200

oki printer c5950 fix new cartridge & drum coming error replace image drum 561:m drum life

The chip is not reusable and needs to be replaced every time. You should be able to find a chip on the internet somewhere. I own a Cartridge World printer cartridge refilling store and I do not recommend refilling your own toner cartridges or buying super cheap ones off the internet. The toner is generally such a low grade that it degrades your drum cartridge causing you to replace a $219 drum unit before you should have to.

Try this:

1.Press Menu = printer displays "Paper Menu"
2.Press Next 4x = printer displays "System Menu"
3.Press Select 1x = printer displays "Factory Defaults"
4.Press Next 7x = printer displays "Reset Toner Life"
5.Press Select 1x = printer displays "Resetting Toner Page Count"
6.Press Ready

try this:

1.Press Menu = printer displays "Paper Menu"
2.Press Next 4x = printer displays "System Menu"
3.Press Select 1x = printer displays "Factory Defaults"
4.Press Next 7x = printer displays "Reset Toner Life"
5.Press Select 1x = printer displays "Resetting Toner Page Count"
6.Press Ready

The figure after the K drum Life tells you how much life there is left on the BLACK (K) drum. C indicates Cyan, M indicates Magenta and Y indicates Yellow.

Go to the USAGE MENU and look at the K DRUM LIFE setting. This will be a 2 digit percentage value. As you have just seen the message appear this will mean that the drum life remaining is ....whatever the 2 digit value displays.

The life expectancy of a drum is approximately 15,000 pages.

To get the OKI C5500 to keep going (without opening and closing the lid constantly) in spite of toner cartridge & drum life messages:

1) Turn off printer.
2) Hold down "+" and "-" buttons at the same time, and keep them held down while turning printer back on... continue to hold until the word "OKIUSER" appears.
3) Use "-" button to scroll down to "FUSE KEEP MODE".
4) Press "Enter" button, hold for approx. 10 seconds, then release.
5) Press "Enter" button again, followed by rapid release and repress with hold for approx. 10 seconds.
6) Release "Enter" button, then press and let up one more time quickly.
7) You will see "INITIALING" and then "ONLINE" messages.

If you currently have an error message for toner cartridge life, the message will continue to be shown until after you've sent one print job, and then it will usually disappear for awhile. It will stay gone for longer if you have your printer set up so the toner sensor is turned off.

If you currently have a error message for drum life, it will continue to appear, but you will still be able to print.

Beware that you will have to keep a closer eye on print quality (since you are no longer relying on error message to tell you when your toner cartridges are in need of a replacement or refill, or the drum truly needs to be changed or refurbished).
Please note that anytime you turn the printer off, you will have to go through the whole process again when you turn it back on. It doesn't take long though, and will quickly become habit whenever turning on your printer for the day!
Good Luck.

When installing the C3300 printer, or when replacing the toner cartridge, be sure to fully insert the toner cartridge into the image drum, and make sure the blue lever is pushed ALL THE WAY toward the back of the printer (fully locked position). If it is not fully closed (locked), a "toner sensor" or "toner empty" message may result.

Fatal Error K (for BLACK) - Black toner or drum problem, Drum life exceeded? Display would of said black drum near life before failing.