Frequently Asked Questions
We fitted a brand-new black toner cartridge and the prints still come out faded, with a grey haze in the background. Why?
Because toner is only half of the printing partnership, and this symptom pair is the classic fingerprint of the other half. The toner cartridge supplies the powder; the drum unit is the light-sensitive cylinder that builds the invisible electrostatic image the powder clings to before it is transferred to the page. As that surface ages it stops holding a clean charge: toner begins to settle in areas that should stay blank, which is the grey background haze, while the areas that should print fully no longer attract their full share, which is the fading. Fresh toner cannot cure either fault, because the powder itself was never the problem — it is being laid down by a worn imaging surface. When light prints and background greying survive a toner change, the 013R00647 drum unit is the part the evidence points to.
The same dark spot keeps appearing down every page, always in the same position. Is that the drum?
Almost certainly, yes — a defect that repeats at regular intervals down the sheet is the signature of a rotating part, and the drum is the rotating part whose surface touches every page. A nick, scratch or patch of wear at one point on the cylinder comes back around once per revolution, printing its mark at the same spacing again and again: a spot, a short streak, or a smudge that seems to march down the document. Toner cartridges do not produce this pattern, because their contents are consumed rather than presented to the page in a fixed rotation. Regular-interval marks that ignore toner changes are worn-drum evidence, and they do not improve with cleaning or with time — the damaged point on the surface is permanent. Replacing the 013R00647 is the fix.
The drum is rated at 61,000 pages. What does that figure mean, and how long should this unit actually serve?
It is a service-life rating, not a supply of anything being used up — and that distinction matters. A toner cartridge's page figure estimates how much powder is in the box; the drum's 61,000 pages estimates how long its imaging surface stays within specification under standard test conditions. Nothing is consumed page by page in a drum the way toner is, which is why a drum comfortably outlasts several toner cartridges in the same machine. Real life varies around the rating: long, steady print runs are gentle on the surface, while a diet of single-page jobs, heavy coverage and a dusty environment all age it faster. The practical reading is that this unit should carry the black station through years of ordinary departmental work — and when its time comes, it announces itself through print quality, as described above, rather than by running empty.
Why is the drum a separate part from the toner cartridge on this platform at all?
Because the two wear out on completely different clocks, and separating them keeps you from throwing away a good part with a finished one. Toner is a consumable measured in months; the drum is a precision component measured in years. If the drum were built into every toner cartridge, each routine toner change would bury a still-healthy imaging surface in the bin and charge you for a new one; if toner were built into the drum, a simple powder refill would mean replacing the expensive cylinder. Xerox's design for this range keeps them independent: toner cartridges come and go on their shorter cycle, and the 013R00647 drum unit is serviced only when its own surface reaches the end of its life. The $199.39 price of this unit buys that long component alone — there is no toner inside it, and none is needed when you fit it.
Which models does the 013R00647 drum unit fit?
Two models in Xerox's departmental colour range: the WorkCentre 7425 and WorkCentre 7428. The two are siblings from the same generation and share this drum design for the black station, so a site running one of each keeps a single spare on the shelf. To confirm before you order, slide the drum unit out of the machine and read the code on its label — 013R00647 is the number this listing replaces. Note that this is the imaging drum, a different part from the black toner cartridge the same machines use; the two are ordered and replaced separately.
What cover comes with this drum unit, and how is it delivered?
Each 013R00647 is sold with a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, so a unit that arrives damaged or develops a fault early in its service goes back for a replacement or a refund. One handling note worth following when yours arrives: keep the drum in its sealed packaging until the moment you fit it, and avoid touching the cylinder's surface or leaving it exposed to bright light — the coating is photosensitive by design. Orders are dispatched from the closest of our four warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California, with the full delivery and returns terms published on our shipping & returns page. Questions before or after ordering are answered by our support team Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST, and the rest of the range for this platform is gathered in the store's Xerox section.
About This Xerox 013R00647 Black Drum Unit
A single compatible black drum unit, part number 013R00647, priced at $199.39 and rated for a service life of 61,000 pages. This is the imaging component of the black station in the WorkCentre 7425 and WorkCentre 7428: the cylinder whose charged surface forms the image that black toner develops and transfers to the page. It is not a toner cartridge and contains no toner — it is the long-life partner part that toner cartridges cycle past, replaced only when repeating marks, streaks, fading or background greying show that its surface has worn. Because its life spans several toner changes, it is bought rarely and deliberately, usually to cure a quality fault a new toner cartridge could not. It is backed by a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns.
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