Drum units
The photoconductive drum carries the image before it transfers to paper. Typical life runs 100,000 to 300,000 pages depending on the machine, and a colour device has either one drum or four. This is usually the most expensive scheduled consumable on a colour machine.
Kyocera is the notable exception: its ceramic drum is rated for the life of the machine under normal use, which is the main reason Kyocera equipment posts such low cost per page over a full term.
Developer
Developer is the carrier that moves toner to the drum. It degrades gradually rather than failing, and worn developer shows as fading density and poor colour saturation long before anything stops working. Typical replacement is every 300,000 to 600,000 pages.
Fuser unit
The fuser bonds toner to paper using heat and pressure, and it is the single largest scheduled component on most machines. Life is typically 200,000 to 500,000 pages. A worn fuser shows as toner that rubs off the page, or as repeated jams at the exit.
Transfer belt and transfer roller
These move the image from drum to paper. Wear shows as ghosting, repeated marks at a fixed interval down the page, or poor transfer onto heavy stock. Life is usually similar to the drum.
Waste toner container
Cheap, and it stops the machine dead when full. It should be replaced during preventative maintenance rather than becoming an emergency, which is exactly what happens on machines nobody services on a schedule.
Feed and separation rollers
Rubber, and they polish smooth with use. Rollers are the most common cause of repeated jams and the cheapest thing on this list to replace — see why your copier keeps jamming. Document feeder rollers wear faster than tray rollers because they handle much rougher input.
Staples and finisher supplies
Staple cartridges for a finisher are consumables, and they are excluded from most cost-per-page agreements along with paper. Keep spares on site; a booklet finisher out of staples on the morning of a board meeting is an avoidable problem.
What a contract should include
A genuine all-inclusive cost-per-page agreement covers every item above except staples and paper. If a quoted rate excludes drums or fuser units, it is not comparable to one that includes them. Ask for the inclusions in writing — our service agreements list them.
Common questions
What copier parts are considered consumables?
Toner, drum units, developer, fuser units, transfer belts and rollers, waste toner containers, and feed and separation rollers. Staples and paper are consumables too but are excluded from almost every service agreement.
Are drums and fusers included in a cost-per-page contract?
On a genuine all-inclusive agreement, yes. Excluding them is the most common way a dealer produces a low headline page rate, so confirm inclusions in writing before comparing quotes.