Okidata color, black-and-white and multifunction printers use an OKI toner cartridge and a drum unit separately, which allows you to save money if you don’t need to replace the drum yet. Replace your toner cartridge and drum when the indicator light or warning comes on. Drums last through 3 to 5 toner cartridges. Okidata microline and dot matrix printers use ribbons with attached OKI ink cartridges.

If the "replace drum" indicator comes on and you don't have a toner drum, open and close the case where the drum is located. You’ll need to order a new drum, but you’ll get 20 pages more from the old drum with this trick. The following types of OKI ink and toner products are available for Okidata printers:

1. Genuine Okidata toner cartridges, drums and ribbons

2. Compatible toner cartridges, drums and ribbons made by other manufacturers

3. OKI toner refills

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Maintain quality with genuine OKI ink and toner

Printer manufacturers make toner and ink specifically for their brand of printers. Manufacturers call these types of products OEM toner and ink. Some manufacturers claim OEM products are better than those made by others, but the makers of compatible cartridges claim their ink and toner is also top quality.

I recommend: Select your printer model to find the correct toner cartridge at Oki Data Americas, Inc., where you can also purchase genuine toner cartridges, drums, ribbons and other printer supplies. Buy OEM toner at Coastal Business Supplies, Inc., which offers free shipping on large orders and answers your questions via an email form.

Reduce price with compatible and remanufactured OKI printer cartridges

Makers of compatible and remanufactured cartridges use quality ink and toner. It may not be exactly the same as those made by OKI; the company is not required to reveal trade secrets. It is against the law for a manufacturer to void a printer's warranty because you use compatible toner. You can save money by buying compatible and remanufactured toner, which typically sells for less than OEM toner and ink.

I recommend: Use CDW Corporation's "Ink and Toner Finder" to find OKI compatible toner, drum fusion kits and ribbons. SuperMediaStore.com sells a variety of compatible OKI toner cartridges and supplies.

Reduce waste and expense on OKI toner cartridge

Refill your current cartridge with new toner, saving even more money. This eliminates the waste of an empty cartridge. Toner refill kits come with the instructions and tools you need to refill your cartridge. Bulk ink saves you the most money, but you need to have the specialized tools on hand to use it.

I recommend: Buy OKI toner refill kits and bulk toner at Toner Refills Now, where you can view step-by-step instructions on how to refill OKI toner cartridges, accompanied by color photos. Laser Tek Services also sells refill kits and offers to locate hard-to-find toner refills.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't leave ink or your OKI toner cartridge in a parked vehicle. Heat from the sun, or even the windowsill in your office, can damage cartridges.
• •  Refill or recycle your cartridges as soon as possible. The quality of a used cartridge degrades as it sits around. Put used cartridges back in the wrapper and box they came in to store them while waiting to recycle them.