The Ultimate Guide for Canon PG-260 CL-261 ink Cartridge
Canon PG-260 and CL-261 are perfect partners for home and small office printers. It can provide us with excellent printing pictures, whether black-and-white documents or colorful photos. Through this guide, you can better understand the difference between the two types of ink cartridges, how to install and how to save more expenses on the ink cartridges. Let's jump in!
What printer models are compatible with Canon PG-260 and CL-261?
- Canon PIXMA TR7020
- Canon PIXMA TS5320
- Canon PIXMA TS6420
Specifications of Canon PG-260 and CL-261
- Canon PG-260 standard yield black ink cartridge prints 180 pages.
- Canon PG-260XL high yield black ink cartridge prints 400 pages.
- Canon CL-261 standard yield color ink cartridge prints 180 pages.
- Canon CL-261XL high yield color ink cartridge prints 300 pages.
What is the difference between PG-260 and CL-261?
PG-260 and PG-260XL are black ink cartridges which only contain black ink.
CL-261 and CL-261XL are tri-color ink cartridges which contain cyan, magenta and yellow three colors in a cartridge.
PG-260 and CL-261 have fixed slots and their positions cannot be interchanged during installation.
The latch with the letter “B” is for the black ink cartridge (PG-260 / PG-260XL), while the latch with the letter “C” is for the tri-color or colored cartridge (CL-261 / CL-261XL). Any changeover would result in the destruction of both cartridges, so proceed with caution.
What is the difference between tri-color and individual color cartridges?
As we all know, color ink cartridges are divided into tri-color ink cartridge and individual color ink cartridge.
- Popular black and tri-color cartridge sets: Canon PG-240 black / CL-241 color, PG-245 black / CL-246 color, PG-260 black / CL-261 color and PG-275 / CL-276 color.
- Popular individual color ink cartridge: HP 902 / 902XL, 962 / 962XL, 952 / 952XL, 910 / 910XL.
What’s the difference between them?
1. The position of the print head
- The print heads of the tri-color cartridges are built tightly into the ink box, so they should be replaced every time the cartridge is replaced.
- Individual ink cartridge does not have a built-in print head. Instead, the print head is built into the printer.
2. Different colors stored in one cartridge or in different cartridges
- Tri-color ink cartridge includes three chambers inside that are filled with cyan, magenta and yellow ink.
- Individual color ink cartridge means cyan, magenta and yellow ink cartridge has its own separate ink cartridge.
3. Can it be replaced separately
- For a tri-color ink cartridge, if there is not enough ink for a particular color, the entire cartridge must be replaced.
- For Individual color ink cartridges, each color can be changed separately as needed.
View here to get more detail about tri-color vs. Individual color cartridges.
What is the difference between PG and CL?
If you carefully observe Canon printer cartridges, you will find that many of them are started with "PG" and "CL", and these two kinds of cartridges often need to be used together. What's the difference between them?
Canon marks their ink cartridges with specific letters to distinguish their ink types and colors. For example, the ink cartridge with "PG" is filled with pigment ink, usually black, which is very suitable for printing text.
"CL" stands for ChromaLife, usually in color, and is used to mark its dye-based ink. Dye-based ink can print bright and vivid colors, which is very suitable for photo printing.
How to save on Canon PG-260 and CL-261 ink cartridge?
As we all know, ink cartridges are very expensive. A Canon PG-260 black ink cartridge can only print 180 pages, costs $17.99, the cost per page is 9.99 cents. How to save more cost on ink cartridges? V4ink provides you with the best quality and best price alternative - v4ink Remanufactured Canon PG-260XL high yield black ink cartridge and PG-260XL black & CL-261XL color combo pack. They are high-volume versions that can provide you with more pages of printouts, all items are auto-produced strictly under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 STMC standard, with over 1.40 black uniform density, firm fixation, sharp printout, which are totally comparable to the originals.
V4ink PG-260XL black & CL-261XL color combo pack only $55.98 can provide you with 300 pages per color cartridge and 400 pages per black cartridge and save you up to 11% than ordering original products.
How to install Canon PG-260 CL-261 into Canon ts6420, ts5320 and tr7020 printers?
Before installing the ink cartridge into your printer, please note that the printer needs to install PG-260 and CL-261 at the same time to work normally. Only installing one of them cannot work normally.
In addition, the physical dimensions of the standard yield and the high yield version are the same, so they are installed in the same way regardless of standard or high-yield. Let's start the installation:
Step 1 - Lift up the printer cover.
Step 2 - Wait until the printhead stops moving.
Step 3 - Press the cartridge to remove it out of the printer.
Step 4 - Take out the new cartridge from the package.
Step 5 - Remove the protective cover of the ink cartridge.
Step 6 - Remove the sealing tape (Note: Avoid touching the golden points while handling the cartridges).
Step 7 - Insert the cartridge into the slot (Keep in mind that the latch with the letter B is for the black cartridge, while the latch with the letter C is for the tri-color or colored cartridge. Any changeover would result in the destruction of both cartridges, so proceed with caution.).
Step 8 - Close up the machine cover and now you can start printing!
FAQs about Canon pg-260 and cl-261?
- Can I mix standard and high yield ink cartridges?
Generally speaking, there is no problem. Since the sizes of standard and high yield version are the same, there will be no problem as long as they are installed in the corresponding slot.
- Is XL cartridge better?
The main difference of XL cartridge and standard cartridge is the XL cartridge contains more ink. Therefore, XL cartridge can provide more pages and with a lower cost per page.
- Do you need to install both cartridges to use?
Yes, definitely! As I mentioned above PG-260 Black ink cartridge and CL-261 color ink cartridge need to be installed into the printer at the same time, otherwise, it will not work normally.
- What to do if the printer shows “Low ink”, “no cartridge” after I just install a new one?
There are usually two kinds of situations.
One is the ink cartridge is not installed correctly. When installing the ink cartridge, make sure that the protective tape and protective cover are removed and installed in the correct card slot.
Second, the error message is displayed only because the cartridge is remanufactured. There is a chip inside the original ink cartridge to record how many pages have been printed and they cannot be reset. As a result, the printer still reads the information of the old ink cartridge. Therefore, you need to reset your printer manually.
Reset method:
1. Remove all cartridges from the printer.
2. Power off the printer and unplug it from the wall.
3. Place cartridges back in the printer. Allow the printer to sit for 10-15 minutes.
4. Plug in the printer and turn it on.
After the above reset process, your printer should allow you to print now. If the printer still does not allow you to print after the reset process, reinstall the printer driver.
After resetting and reinstalling, the empty cartridge messages may appear on the printer. Messages include "no cartridge", "low ink level", "cartridge unrecognized", or other situations that indicate a problem with the new cartridge. In any of these cases, you can safely ignore the error message and print happily.
If you find any further questions during using Canon PG-260 and CL-261 ink cartridges, please feel free to contact us by email: support_team@v4ink.com.
