Frequently Asked Questions

What is inside this three-color set?

One cartridge for each color station: TK897C in cyan, TK897M in magenta and TK897Y in yellow. There is no black cartridge in the box — the black station is served by the separate TK897K — so this set is a pure color-side renewal.

When does refreshing all three colors together make sense?

When the colors were fitted together and have aged together. Color stations in these machines tend to decline in the same period, and renewing all three at once restores the color balance in a single pass instead of chasing one faded color after another over the following weeks.

Must all three go in on the same day?

Not at all. Each cartridge is sealed individually, so you can fit the full trio for a clean reset or install them one at a time as each station actually empties. The sealed spares wait on the shelf without any penalty.

How much printing does each cartridge cover?

Each of the three is rated at 6,000 pages on standard test pages. Read that per cartridge rather than as a set figure: a color you use heavily will finish sooner than one you use lightly, whatever the bundle they arrived in.

What should I check after fitting the new colors?

Run a color test page and look at each band: cyan, magenta and yellow should all print solid and even. A weak band usually means a cartridge that needs reseating — remove it, rock it gently side to side, and slide it firmly back before printing the test again.

What cover does the set carry?

All three cartridges are backed by a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, each unit covered on its own. Support is available Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST if anything arrives damaged or underperforms early.

Will fitting three fresh colors alongside an older black cartridge upset the color balance?

No. Each station contributes its own color independently, so new TK897C, TK897M and TK897Y cartridges alongside a part-used TK897K simply mean the color side is at full strength while the black continues its own life. Color balance depends on the three colors being healthy together, which is what this set restores; the black's age affects text density, not the hue of your graphics. If anything, renewing the trio together makes balance easier to judge, because no single tired color is skewing the mixture.

If the three colors were fitted together, will they empty together next time?

Roughly, but not exactly. Cartridges fitted on the same day start level, yet each color is consumed at its own rate — the mixture in your documents decides which of the 6,000-page ratings is reached first. In practice the trio declines within the same general period rather than on the same day, which is the convenience of this set: when the first color flags, the other two are usually not far behind, and one order refreshes the whole color side again instead of three separate emergencies.

How should the three spent cartridges be dealt with after a joint refresh?

Keep all three until the new set has printed a test page and some real work cleanly — a joint change is exactly when you want the old units available for comparison if a band looks weak. After that, the three empties can leave together in their cartons through local recycling or your office waste stream. Each cartridge in this set is covered individually by a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, so if one new unit misbehaves, only that cartridge is ever in question.

Should the matching black be ordered at the same time as this set?

Only if its level calls for it. Check the black's status page reading before you order: the TK897K is rated at 12,000 pages, twice the rating of each color in this box, so a black fitted at the same time as your last color refresh may still have half its life left. Ordering black by its own gauge rather than by habit avoids money sitting on the shelf in a cartridge you will not need for months — and when it does run low, it is a separate single order.

About This Kyocera TK897 Three-Color CMY Set

At $213.84, this set is the balanced color refresh for the FS-C8520MFP, FS-C8525MFP, TASKalfa 205c and TASKalfa 255: TK897C, TK897M and TK897Y together, one per color station, so the machine's color output comes back into balance in a single order. Orders ship from our warehouses in IL, PA, GA and CA, and delivery and returns details are on our shipping & returns page. The matching black and the wider Kyocera-Mita range are on our site.