Waste Toner: FAQs

What is waste toner? 

Waste toner is extra toner that builds up on the drum of a laser printer or MFP during printing. Small particles of toner collect and surround the drum unit and can impact the performance and print quality of your MFP. 

A waste toner is installed in the MFP to filter and remove any such toner residue into a bottle, rather than surrounding your drum unit and impacting on print quality. 

How do I know when to replace the waste toner? 

Your MFP will notify you when the waste toner is full - it will usually display a warning message on the screen. In some circumstances the device will stop working entirely and display an error code.

You can also check the status of consumables from the utilities menu. 

Why can't you monitor my waste toner?

Normal toner cartridges have a chip on them that allows us to monitor their toner level. Unfortunately waste toners do not currently have such a chip and so require manual monitoring by the user.

In some circumstances it may be possible to configure an email alert, but you will always require a spare waste toner to be fitted immediately.

What do I need to do?

Always make sure that you have a spare waste toner for each MFP or device in your printing network. We put notifications on our waste toner packaging and on our devices to remind users to reorder.

You should make sure end users understand the importance of requesting a new waste when fitting one. This can be done via our online form or by calling 03456 123858 - option 2, option 3.

Do I need to recycle my waste toner?

Yes. You should include the waste toner in your normal recycling process. Make sure that the bottle is properly sealed as leaked toner can cause irritation.