Patent ID: 8081896

Claim:
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming mechanism for forming a toner image; a plurality of toner containers in the image forming apparatus and to contain a toner used to form an image, the plurality of toner containers including at least three toner containers, each including a different color of toner; a housing to house the image forming mechanism and the plurality of toner containers, the housing comprising: at least one door to be opened for access to and replacement of the plurality of said toner containers; and a user interface at an upper portion of the housing, the user interface comprising: an input device to receive input from a user; and a display to indicate a status of the toner used to form the image, the display being viewable from a front of the image forming apparatus, the status including an indication that there is no toner of a particular color for use in the image forming apparatus, wherein said plurality of toner containers are in parallel in line in the image forming apparatus in a first predetermined sequence according to colors of the toner, and wherein a plurality of indicators are in parallel in line on the display in a second predetermined sequence according to indications of colors, the first and second predetermined sequences corresponding to each other, each of the plurality of indicators being adjacent to no more than two others of the plurality of indicators.