What do I do when my Brother printer 4040cdn has the message "drum end soon"? It has ink cartridges that are not empty. When they need to be replaced there is a flashing light.

The problem with this is the design. Each toner cartridge has a microchip on it, that counts the pages you print. The company has determined that you get x amounts of prints. Then you have to replace it, empty or not. This printers do not work the same way as an expensive professional business copier. In an pro style there is a spent toner cartridge that collects all of the wasted toner that is on the drum. On a small business/home style this spent toner goes back into the cartridge. There is no level indicator, even on the inkjet printer. They too, have a chip that says you have x amount of prints/cleaning cycles they can go through. Look up inkjet refill kits or inkjet cartridge programmer.

Are you sure of the error message? The Brother printers that I have used have Drum Ends Soon and Change Belt messages.

The Brother MFC-9440CN has a belt that can be replaced. The Belt unit has an life expectancy of ~50000 pages. The belt unit is part BU100CL and costs a bit over $150 at office supply stores. Amazon.com and some other stores have the unit for under $100. http://www.amazon.com/Brother-BU-100CL-HL-4040CN-HL-4070CDW-Series/dp/B000SC245E is one source.

When the unit says Change Belt Unit, follow the directions from the manual's maintenance section to replace the belt unit. See page 178 (page 189 of the PDF) http://welcome.solutions.brother.com/BSC/public/files/dlf/doc002252/mfc9440_usa_usr_b.pdf . You have to remove the Drum and then the Belt Unit. Then slide in the new Belt Unit and replace the Drum unit. Then close the printer and turn it on. Finally reset the counter from the Machine Info sub menu (press Menu 8 4 and select the Belt Unit and press OK. Then press 1 followed by Stop/Exit).

If you mean the Drum Unit, that is part DR-110CL and costs over $175 at the office supply stores. Order this part when the Drum End Soon message appears and replace it if the print quality deteriorates (or when you have the new drum). The Drum Life is ~17000 pages. The steps start on page 166 (182 of the PDF). You need to remove the old Drum unit. Then remove the toner cartridges from the drum. Prepare the new Drum Unit, including putting the cartridges in the new Drum. Then replace the Drum unit and reset the counter.

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells

Hi there !

Don't worry, it does not detect any hardware failure. Drum end near means that your toner is lower and soon it will end.

If you just replaced new toner and still drum end near message comes up. Just make a hard reset of your printer by removing the cartridge and turning off the printer in 5-10 minutes. Then return the cartridge and try to print again. It will refresh the memory of the printer and the message will disappear.

I hope it helps you.

Same with our Brother 8640N, drum near end means toner is nearly to end but sometimes even you replace bew cartridge is appears this message. TONER LIFE END message need to replace cartridge.

You will soon need to replace the drum. Its considered a consumable just like the toner cartridges. You can purchase the drum anywhere that sells brother pruducts.

The drum is a selenium coated sort of roller that has the image of your copy document tranfered onto it. As it rotates this image is tranfered to your new copy paper. It then is demagnetised and the toner returns to the toner catcher. The drum coating has a finite life and the mesaage is telling you that its life is near its end and a new drum or new machine will be required soon.

At 1 of the end sides of the cartage you will see a little window, a beam of light hits that window to determine if you need Ink..Place a small piece of Electric tape over that window and.wallah print,fax and copy away. Brother is a ripoff-A cheap printer that auto-cleans(wastes ink) and locks the whole system claiming your out of Ink or low>>>But this is sure to work! ;)

Drum for Brother MFC-6800 All in One Machine
You can expect it to print 12,000 Page Yield
Whats the difference between a DRUM and a TONER Cartridge? The toner cartridge is a cartridge holding the toner (ink). The drum does the work to transfer the ink to the paper. You will need to replace the drum every 5-6 toner cartridges you use.

The message means the imaging drum is going to need replacement soon. The imaging drum and toner cartridge are the two main parts that need replacement sometimes. In some printers the drum and toner cartridge are replaced in the same unit, but the Brother has separate parts. The drum is rated for a certain number of copies, so as it gets close you get the message. Replacement drums are available at big-box office places and online. An original Brother is in the $100-$150 range and generics around half that cost.

you need to follow the whole procedure on your to ensure proper installation as soon as you install the new one, follow the instruction on the screen to calibrate your new ink