Okidata C5150n Color
Printer Installation Tips

- If you are thinking about buying a brand new Okidata C5150n printer, listed below are some helpful guidelines to get you up & running quickly, connected to your office network or home computer, user reviews, and special tips on how to save toner & prolong use of each toner cartridge -

1. Unpacking

Your Okidata C5150n Color Printer arrives well-packaged to protect it during shipment. Start by removing the 4 plastic hand-carry tabs from around the sides of the box - this allows the box lid to lift off easily. Be sure to remove all the packaging materials which are protecting the different areas of the printer before plugging it in. The included instruction manual & quick setup leaflet are good at identifying these areas.

2. Connectivity

Network:
     When setting up the Okidata C5150n on your local area network, be sure to "go with the default" selections - the printer has great software to help you get connected quickly. The key here is to not over analyze (which is a fault I have with most things technology-related).
     My mistake: I started un-checking or removing different printer options before successfully test-printing (those printer options were considered an essential part of the printer setup, so obviously that interfered with proper printing operations).
     Recommendation: Allow the printer to self-configure to your network successfully, then test-print from that configuration. This is the best way to prevent going down the wrong path. For most situations, the default setup instructions will get this printer installed quickly onto your network without a problem.

Direct Connect to PC or Mac:
The Okidata C5150n Printer is default configured with a USB 2.0 Port for quick-connect to your desktop pc, laptop, or mac computer. Just follow the included instructions to get connected quickly with this interface. Side-note: USB 2.0 is backward compatible to the version 1x USB standard for interoperability purposes. You will need a USB 1.1 or 2.0 Specification Cable (6-ft) or 10-ft length (not supplied with printer).

3. Toner Usage - How To Save Toner & Prolong Your Toner Cartridges

This Okidata LED Color Printer has some nice toner-saving features which prolong your usage. Because this is a color led printer, it has four toner cartridges: cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow (y), and black (k). Each of the color cartridges can run nearly two times more expensive than the black cartridge.

The best settings which are working well for me & Saving Lots of Toner: In the Printer Preference (or Properties) Settings, I have selected the "Draft" mode and the "Toner Saving" option, as shown below:

Okidata Toner Saving Mode

In addition, on the Color Tab, I have selected the "Advanced Color" mode; this 'dropped-down' a new section titled "Black Finish" where I have selected the "Matte" option, which uses 100% black toner to represent black. With this setting selected, the oki data printer will print true black areas using the black cartridge (K toner) instead of a combination of your color cartridges, thereby saving on color printer toner usage.

Okidata C5150n True Black Setting

Alternately you can select the "Grayscale" Mode, which will print your documents in black & white (monochrome with gray levels). This setting will only use the black toner cartridge even when printing color documents or prints (the color is converted into grayscale). This will save your color toner usage for only those documents or prints that really need to be printed in color.

When you need to print a color brochure or color photo, simply select the pull-down menu "File--Print" from within your application, and change the Print Preferences/Properties back to the "Auto Color" Mode.

4. Toner Cartridge Handling Precautions

If you need to remove the toner cartridges for any reason (shouldn't have to other than when it is time to replace the toner for example), make certain that you follow the below important guidelines and precautions.

IMPORTANT CAUTIONS for Okidata C5150n Printers

Note: The green image drum surface at the base of the cartridge is very delicate and light sensitive. Do not touch it and do not expose it to normal room light for more than 5 minutes.

Drum Unit: Do not touch the green surface (bottom of the toner cartridge/image drum unit)
Never expose the toner cartridge/drum unit to direct sunlight or to very bright room lighting.
Do not expose it to normal room light for more than 5 minutes.
If the image drum must be out of the printer for longer than 5 minutes, place the image drum inside a black plastic bag (some of these are available in the original printer box) or carefully place it in a clean drawer or cabinet to keep it away from light.

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