Overview
This document contains information regarding the 84 Maintenance messaging Q&As, explanations of the warnings shown by the printer, and the proper Photoconductor installation/reset procedure.
Questions and Answers about Printer Message – 84
Questions and Answers about the printer supply maintenance message 84 to be used to provide information for a better understanding of the meaning of the message and the proper action items to take when observed.
Q: | What is a Photoconductor Kit/Unit? |
A: | The Photoconductor Kit is a supply item like a toner cartridge that contains some key components used in the printing process. The Photoconductor Kit must be replaced like other supplies for reasons including component wear and/or accumulation of waste toner. The printer display panel should present supply maintenance messages when the photoconductor unit approaches the end of life of the supply. |
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Q: | What are possible supply messages for the photoconductor unit near or at end of life? |
A: | 84 PC Kit Life Warning and/or 84 Replace PC Kit. For printers that have LED lights, please refer to the User Guide to determine which lights should be solid vs blinking for the errors listed above. |
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Q: | What should be done when these messages appear? |
A: | The suggestion would be to do the following: 84 PC Kit life warning – Start the ordering process for a new Photoconductor Kit. Continue using the photoconductor kit until print quality degradation or 84 Replace PC Kit appears. 84 Replace PC Kit – Replace the Photoconductor Kit. |
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Q: | What is the difference between the messages? |
A: | These messages are displayed at specific points of life and intervals to allow users to order a new supply prior to the supply reaching end of usable life and also notifying the user when the photoconductor unit has reached its maximum recommended life. |
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Q: | What happens if the message is ignored or cleared without changing the supply? |
A: | Eventually, all Photoconductor Kits will have some type of failure resulting in potential damage to the printer. Knowingly ignoring messages that are displayed on the operating panel to protect the rest of the printer from damage can invalidate a printer warranty. While the printer may continue to function after the Photoconductor Kit has reached its official end‑of‑life, print quality continues to degrade and/or toner can start to leak inside the printer. In order to ensure that this doesn’t happen, these messages are used to inform the user that a new supply is needed. Some, but not all, supply messages will not clear until the supply is replaced. |
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Q: | Can you swap supplies between printers? |
A: | Swapping toner cartridges between compatible printers should not produce an ill effects, however, Lexmark does NOT recommend swapping the Photoconductor kit from one machine to another. The Photoconductor Kit count remains in the printer which can only be reset, not adjusted or changed. For example, if a Photoconductor Kit that is almost at end of life is swapped into a printer with a Photoconductor Kit count that was recently reset, the Maintenance messages will not appear prior to potential failures that could damage the device. |
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Q: | Why will the print quality degrade? What are the symptoms of the print quality degradation that can be found in the Photoconductor Kit? |
A: | The Photoconductor Kit consists of several components including the photoconductor, cleaner blade, and a charging system. Eventually due to the amount of wear, failures including faded print areas, dark marks on the pages, and hazy background will occur if not replaced. |
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Q: | Why would the Photoconductor Kit leak toner? |
A: | Another key function of the Photoconductor Kit is to capture all waste that is deposited onto the photoconductor drum. This waste can include paper dust from the media used as well as toner that is used for printing. The waste material is cleaned off the surface of the photoconductor drum and deposited into a sump for disposal when the supply is replaced. If the sump becomes full, no more toner can be collected resulting in the remaining waste toner dropping onto the paper or into the printer. |
Photoconductor Kit Life Warning/ Replace Photoconductor Kit Messaging for Lexmark E260, E360, E46x, ES360, ES460, X264, X36x, X46x, XS364, and XS46x
Light Pattern Sequence for Lexmark E260
Light sequence | What to do |
PC Kit life warning – On | Order a replacement photoconductor kit. Press and release the icon show below to clear the light sequence and continue processing the print job. Replace the Photoconductor Kit and reset the PC counter upon degradation of print quality or when Replace PC Kit message is displayed. |
Replace PC Kit – Blinking – Blinking – On | Replace the Photoconductor Kit and reset the PC counter. Warning—Potential Damage: Resetting the photoconductor counter without replacing the photoconductor kit may damage your printer and void your warranty. |
Panel Message for Lexmark E360, E46x, ES360, ES460, X264, X36x, X46x, XS364, and XS46x
Panel Message | What to do |
84 PC Kit life warning - or - Photoconductor Kit Life Warning | Order a replacement photoconductor kit. Press and release the icon shown below to clear the message and continue processing the print job. Replace the Photoconductor Kit and reset the PC counter upon degradation of print quality or when Replace PC Kit message is displayed. |
84 Replace PC Kit - or - Photoconductor Exhausted | Replace the Photoconductor Kit and reset the PC counter. Warning—Potential Damage: Resetting the photoconductor counter without replacing the photoconductor kit may damage your printer and void your warranty. |
Replacing the Photoconductor Kit
The printer automatically notifies you before the photoconductor kit reaches a page or cycle maximum by showing the PC Kit life warning. The printer also automatically notifies you when a page or cycle maximum is reached by showing the Replace PC Kit on the display. You can also see the status of the photoconductor kit by printing a Menu Settings page or Device Statistics and look at the Supplies Information section.
When the PC Kit life warning appears, you should immediately order a new photoconductor kit.
The potential effects on quality will vary based on the average printing application on the device including print coverage, average job size, paper size, finishing options, and environment. Potential impacts on print quality include but are not limited to: character voiding or light print, vertical streaks, background or tinted/shaded areas on the media, dark patterning on the edges of media, as well as waste toner leaks from the photoconductor cleaner unit (not cartridge) deposit onto the page as large spots and streaks as well as into the printer itself.
Warning—Potential Damage: Resetting the photoconductor counter without replacing the photoconductor kit may damage your printer and void your warranty.
Toner leaks from the photoconductor kit can lead to additional damage to the machine that should be avoided. Swapping a photoconductor kit from one printer to another printer should be avoided unless the photoconductor kit is new. In some cases, toner leaks can occur later in life if a used photoconductor unit is moved to a different machine.
Instructions to replace the Photoconductor Kit in a Lexmark E260, E360, E46x, ES360, ES460, X264, X36x, X46x, XS364, and XS46x:
Warning—Potential Damage: Lexmark does NOT recommend using a partially used photoconductor kit as the replacement Photoconductor kit during this process. Potential damage to the printer can occur due to future toner leaks due to inaccurate maintenance counts.
Step | Action |
1 | Turn off the printer. |
2 | Pull the Photoconductor Kit and toner cartridge together as a unit out of the printer by pulling on the toner cartridge handle. Note: The Photoconductor Kit and toner cartridge form a unit. |
3 | Place the unit on a flat, clean surface. |
4 | Press the button on the base of the Photoconductor Kit, and then pull the toner cartridge up and out using the handle. |
5 | Unpack the new Photoconductor Kit. Warning—Potential Damage: Be careful not to touch the photoconductor drum. Doing so may affect the print quality of future print jobs. |
6 | Insert the toner cartridge into the new Photoconductor Kit by aligning the rollers on the toner cartridge with the tracks. Push the toner cartridge in until it clicks into place. |
7 | Install the unit into the printer by aligning the arrows on the guides of the unit with the arrows in the printer. Push the unit fully in. IMPORTANT! The photoconductor page count should be reset only when a completely new photoconductor kit is installed. Resetting the page count without replacing the photoconductor kit will cause the photoconductor to operate beyond its intended life and create print quality issues or possibly damage the printer. |
8 | After replacing the Photoconductor Kit, reset the photoconductor counter: For Lexmark E260, open the front cover and then press and hold the stop/cancel button until all the lights begin to cycle. Close the front cover. For all other models, open the front cover and then press and hold the stop/cancel button. Watch the panel screen. When you see the message, “Resetting PC Counter”, let go of the button. Close the front cover. Note: If you are having difficulties resetting the photoconductor counter, click the appropriate link below: Warning—Potential Damage: Resetting the photoconductor counter without replacing the Photoconductor Kit may damage your printer and void your warranty. |
9 | Close the front door. |
10 | Fill out the shipping label provided inside the box that the new Photoconductor Kit came in to return the spent supply back to Lexmark for proper disposal and recycling. |
LEGACY ID: FA995