An image forming apparatus includes: a main body; a drum cartridge and a toner cartridge those attachable to the main body; a main memory; and a controller. The controller is configured to perform: determining a number of sheets printable using the toner cartridge attached to the main body; determining a number of sheets printable using the drum cartridge attached to the main body; determining a number of sheets printable using a new toner cartridge; and when determining that a sum of the number of sheets printable using the toner cartridge attached to the main body and the number of sheets printable using a new toner cartridge is greater than or equal to the number of sheets printable using the drum cartridge attached to the main body, transmitting to a server a signal for ordering a new drum cartridge together with a new toner cartridge.

A developer cartridge includes a housing to accommodate a developer and including a developer outlet, and a sensing portion that forms a sensing area to detect whether or not the developer inside the housing is miming out. The sensing portion is recessed into a portion of a lower wall of the housing accordingly having a thickness less than a thickness of a remaining portion of the lower wall.

An image forming device may comprise: an attaching unit to which a removable toner bottle is attached; a toner storage that stores toner supplied from the toner bottle attached to the attaching unit; a detector that detects an empty state of toner in the toner storage; and a hardware processor that: supplies toner to the toner storage from the toner bottle when the toner bottle attached to the attaching unit is new; and switches a state of the toner bottle to an old state from a new state if the empty state detected by the detector is released.

Provided is a method of operating an image forming apparatus. The method includes: calculating a remaining lifespan of at least one component consumed through an image forming job in the image forming apparatus; determining whether to proceed with a refill operation to refill a toner in a cartridge of the image forming apparatus, based on the remaining lifespan of the at least one component; and displaying guide information to guide the refill operation based on a result of the determining.

An image forming apparatus includes a developer container to accommodate developer containing toner, a developer bearing member to rotate while bearing the developer accommodated in the developer container and develop the electrostatic latent image borne on an image bearing member into a developer image, a detection portion to output remainder amount information corresponding to an amount of the developer accommodated in the developer container, and a notification portion capable of notifying a first state indicating that a remainder amount of the developer accommodated in the developer container is a first amount or more and a second state indicating that the remainder amount of the developer accommodated in the developer container is less than the first amount. The notification portion notifies one of a plurality of states including the first state and the second state on a basis of the remainder amount information output from the detection portion.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a replenishment unit, an agitation member, a drive source, a control unit, a memory unit, and a remaining amount detection unit. The control unit performs (1) a first operation to drive the drive source for a first time in a case where it is judged based on the output value of the remaining amount detection unit that the toner has increased, and (2) a second operation to drive the drive source for a second time that is shorter than the first time in a case where it is judged based on the output value of the remaining amount detection unit that the toner has not increased.

A device management system cooperates with a delivery system configured to deliver a recording material based on a comparison result between a remaining amount of the recording material to be used in a printing apparatus and a delivery threshold. The system includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire a remaining amount of a recording material in the printing apparatus, a conversion unit configured to convert the remaining amount of the recording material in the printing apparatus into a virtual remaining amount, and a transmission unit configured to transmit the virtual remaining amount to the delivery system as the remaining amount of the recording material in the printing apparatus.

An image forming apparatus capable of forming a toner image on continuous paper, includes: a developing device that develops a latent image formed on an image carrier to form a toner image; a toner storage container that stores toner and is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus; and a plurality of toner storages, wherein the toner is supplied from the toner storage container to the developing device via the plurality of toner storages.

A remaining-toner-amount detecting device includes: first sensor disposed at a supply channel for a toner; a second sensor disposed at a location different from the supply channel; detection processing that compares a capacitance detected by the first sensor with a determination threshold value to detect a toner end; and a memory that stores a capacitance detected by the second sensor in an initial period as initial reference data, and a capacitance detected by the second sensor after part replacement as post-replacement reference data. The detection processing circuitry sets, based on the initial reference data, the determination threshold value as an initial determination threshold value in the initial period, and re-sets the determination threshold value, from the initial determination threshold value, to a value based on the post-replacement reference data, as a post-replacement reference data after the part replacement.

A toner supply device for supplying toner to a developing device includes a toner container containing toner to be supplied to the developing device and a remaining amount sensor for detecting the remaining amount of toner in the toner container. The toner container includes a cylindrical rotating container having a spiral conveying rib formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof and a paddle provided so as to be slidable on the inner peripheral surface of the rotating container. The remaining amount sensor detects the remaining amount of toner on the upstream side on or before the contact position of the paddle in the toner conveying direction.