I wasn't thinking mixing. I just recall that at one of the Lexmark repair courses, they mentioned setting the printer in one of two modes: in one mode, it left all four toners inline and each one was turned, even if it wasn't used.
I wouldn't even try to fix this thing if it did break. It is so full up of parts and toner cartridges, just getting it up and running takes 20 30 minutes! I bought a Staples extended replacement warranty for it, and I figure that is the life span. :)
Turning creates wear on the cartridge, and on printers that were used heavily for black printing to have colour toners wear out before they were empty.
I don't think this is a issue because they write that the black will run out far ahead of some of the colors. And before I bought it I asked OKI if there was any kind of shelf like I had to worry about. I don't print much. The primary reason for me getting one was that I waste so much money on Inkjet cartridges because I just don't print that much. I end up throwing half of the ink away.
The OKI tech told me that there is no shelf life on the cartridge. and he also told me there was no harm leaving it on 24/7 because it just goes into power saving mode where, according to my meter, draws .08 watts. He said the one on his desk had been on for a year.
