A printing apparatus and corresponding method for maintaining a level of a marking material in a marking material waste sump of a printing apparatus to a desired level. The printing apparatus includes a photoreceptor, a cleaning blade for cleaning marking material from the photoreceptor, a waste sump containing the marking material cleaned from the photoreceptor by the cleaner blade, the waste sump including an auger for selectively removing a portion of the marking material from the waste sump when activated, a determining device for determining a level of the marking material in the waste sump, and a controller receiving the determined level of the marking material from the determining device, the controller maintaining the level of the marking material in the waste sump to at or above a desired level by selectively activating the auger when the level of the marking material rises to a predetermined level and deactivating the auger when the level of the marking material is at the desired level, the desired level of the marking material providing a portion of the marking material to the photoreceptor to be used as lubricant between the photoreceptor and the cleaner blade.