Frequently Asked Questions

What is inside this three-cartridge set?

One cartridge of each color: a TK5242C cyan, a TK5242M magenta and a TK5242Y yellow, each in its own labeled box. There is no black cartridge and no duplicate — it is a single matched round of the three colors the printer mixes everything else from, and the code on each carton tells you exactly which slot it belongs to.

Why renew the three colors together instead of one at a time?

Colors age in step. They were fitted together, they have printed the same jobs, and by the time one is empty the other two are usually close behind. Refreshing all three in one round restores the balance between them, so prints do not drift toward the surviving colors while you wait for the next cartridge to give out.

If I buy the set, must all three go in on the same day?

Not at all. Fit the color the printer is calling for and keep the other two sealed until their turn comes — days or weeks later is fine. The set is about having the matched round on hand, not about forcing a same-day change; a cartridge still holding toner should never be retired early.

Are these full cartridges at this price?

Yes — each of the three is rated at 3,000 pages at standard coverage, the complete standard rating for the TK5242C, TK5242M and TK5242Y. They are the same full units sold individually, not reduced-fill starters of the kind that ship inside a new printer.

The first prints after the change look streaky — what helps?

Take the cartridge out, rock it gently end to end a few times to redistribute the toner, and reseat it firmly until it sits properly. A fresh cartridge that has traveled can deliver uneven first pages simply because the toner has settled; a gentle rock and a firm seat clear it in most cases.

What protection comes with the set?

Every cartridge carries its own 1-year warranty with 1-year free returns — see our shipping & returns page for the details. Should one color fault within the year, that cartridge alone goes back free for sorting out; the other two are unaffected and remain covered.

What is the per-cartridge price inside the three-color set?

The set is $66.96 for the three cartridges, which is $22.32 a unit — a saving against the $34.65 each TK5242C, TK5242M or TK5242Y costs bought singly. For that you get the complete matched round, every cartridge carrying its full 3,000-page rating at standard coverage. Priced per slot, renewing the colors together is both the balanced-print option and the cheaper way to buy the same three full cartridges.

If all three are fitted over a short period, does the fitting order matter?

Not mechanically — each color has its own slot and seats independently. Practically, fit one, run a test page, then the next: if the first prints look streaky, you know exactly which cartridge to rock and reseat. Working through TK5242C, TK5242M and TK5242Y one at a time takes only minutes longer and keeps any settling issue attached to a single, identifiable swap.

How should the two cartridges I am not fitting yet be kept?

Sealed in their labeled boxes, flat, somewhere cool and dry and out of direct sun. Colors fitted together still empty one at a time, so the second and third cartridges of this set may wait days or weeks — that wait costs them nothing while the packaging stays closed. A gentle rock end to end before fitting wakes the toner after its rest, exactly as with a freshly delivered unit.

What do I do with the three old color cartridges?

Return each empty to the box its replacement came in — TK5242C, TK5242M and TK5242Y alike — and let the three boxed empties leave together through a local toner recycling collection rather than one at a time. Renewing the colors as a round produces the empties as a round too, and batching them keeps the task to a single errand. If one old cartridge failed unusually early, hold that one back until support has weighed in.

About This TK5242 Three-Color Set

One matched round of color for the Kyocera ECOSYS M5526cdw at $66.96: a TK5242C cyan, a TK5242M magenta and a TK5242Y yellow, each a full cartridge rated at 3,000 pages. It is the natural order when the three colors have worn down together and the machine deserves its color balance back in a single pass — fitted all at once or one slot at a time, as each color actually empties. From our compatible Kyocera-Mita range, shipped from our IL, PA, GA and CA warehouses, with support Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST.