Two black tanks in one Canon PIXMA: which one to buy

Your printer holds two different black inks, and one does not stand in for the other. The PGI-280 tank, labeled PGBK, is pigment black. The CLI-281 BK tank, labeled BK, is dye black. Canon's online manuals for every PGI-280 printer on this page say the pigment black is used for text documents and the dye black mainly for photos and illustrations. The printer picks between them by paper type and driver settings, and when either one runs out, the other is not used in its place.

So buy the black the printer names. On these printers, a warning on PGBK means a PGI-280 and a warning on BK means a CLI-281 BK. The same manuals say the printer cannot print unless every tank is installed, so taking the empty tank out will not get you printing again.

Go by the label, not the color: both tanks hold black ink. In Canon's manuals, every PGI-280 printer on this page labels its tanks on the ink-level display: M, BK, Y, PGBK and C on the five-tank models, and C, BK, PB, Y, PGBK and M on the six-tank models. On the TS6320, Canon's manual says a warning symbol appears over the tank concerned. Where the display is, and what its tank-number option is called, depends on the model:

On a Windows computer, Canon's IJ Status Monitor shows the same labels for each of these printers and has an Ink Model Number button. Canon's manuals say to open it with View Printer Status on the printer driver's Maintenance tab. They also cover checking from a Mac. For a model not listed here, look up Checking Ink Status in its online manual. In every size the pigment tank holds more ink than the matching dye tank (see the first table). Each slot on the print head holder is labeled, and Canon says the printer cannot print with a tank in the wrong slot.

Canon's yield sheets show the split. On the TS6320 sheet, a standard PGI-280 is rated at 200 pages of Canon's mixed text-and-graphics test document on plain paper, while a standard CLI-281 BK is rated at an estimated 1,505 pages of the same document. For 4x6 photos the order reverses: an estimated 231 photos from the CLI-281 BK against an estimated 1,448 from the PGI-280. The TS9520 sheet adds a monochrome document test, where an XXL pigment tank is rated at 600 pages and an XXL dye black at an estimated 24,270. So if you print mostly documents on plain paper, PGBK empties first; if you print mostly photos, BK does. Paper settings matter too. Canon's Windows driver manuals for the TS8300 and TS6300 series say that with a media type other than plain paper, envelope or one of the Hagaki types, or with borderless printing, the printer uses a tank other than PGBK to print documents.

The same tank is rated differently in different printers, so a figure on a box or listing may not match your model's sheet. The CLI-281 XXL BK is rated at an estimated 6,360 pages on the five-tank TS6320 and 4,590 on the six-tank TS8320. The TS702 sheet gives an estimated 8,162. The TS8120 and TS9120 sheets rate the standard PGI-280 at 250 pages, not 200. Canon's sheets also say that the tanks supplied with a new printer print fewer sheets than later ones, because the printer uses some of their ink to fill the print head, and that the ratings come from the later tanks. Go by the sheet for your own model.

Canon's manuals for these printers say that while an ink caution or error is on screen, the printer cannot print, and the all-in-one models cannot scan either. The support code tells you more, but Canon words some codes differently on different models. For the TS6120, TS6220, TS6320, TS702, TR8520, TS8120, TS8220, TS8320 and TS9120, Canon's support-code pages say:

• 1600, ink may have run out: selecting OK lets the current job continue. Canon advises replacing the tank afterward and warns that printing on with no ink may damage the printer.
• 1688, the ink has run out: replace the tank. To keep printing anyway, Canon describes holding Stop for at least 5 seconds to switch off ink-level detection, and says the printer remembers that detection is off. It warns that printing this way may damage the printer and says it is not liable for the result. The tank then shows in white on the TS8320's screen, or gray on the TS6320's.
• 1689, the printer has detected an ink-out condition: a tank that was once empty is installed. Canon gives the same override and warnings, and its disclaimer also covers refilled tanks.
• 1660 or 1684: the tank is not recognized. It is missing, not installed properly, or not compatible.
• 168C: a tank is in the wrong position.

On the TR7520, TR8620 and TS9520 / TS9521C, Canon's pages for 1688 and 1689 read differently. There, 1688 means the printer has detected that one or more tanks is empty, and 1689 means it has detected an issue with one or more tanks. For either code Canon gives two choices: replace the tank, or hold Stop for at least 5 seconds to switch off ink-level detection, after which you can print or copy with any ink left until it runs out, possibly at lower quality. To scan, the TR7520 and TR8620 pages say to switch off detection the same way; the TS9520 pages say to tap Stop and scan from the printer, or to scan from a computer, phone or tablet. For any model, the full wording is under List of Support Code for Error in its online manual.

• Check which label carries the warning, BK or PGBK. The tank you replaced may have been the other black.
• Note the support code and look up what it means on your model, as above. On the TS8320, TS6320 and the other models in the first code list, 1689 means a tank that was once empty is installed. On the TR7520, TR8620 and TS9520 it means the printer has detected an issue with one or more tanks. On all of them, 168C means a tank is in the wrong position.
• Compare the tank number on the printer's ink number screen, or in the Windows status monitor, with the box you bought. Confirming the right cartridge walks through that check.
• Think about what has printed since. A standard PGI-280 is rated at 200 document pages on the TS6320 and TS8320 sheets and 250 on the TS8120 and TS9120 sheets. Canon also says the printer cleans the print head automatically when you start printing after a tank change, and that each cleaning uses a small amount of ink, possibly from every tank.
• If the other black is still the tank that came with the printer, expect fewer pages from it than its rating. Canon says the first tanks print fewer sheets than later ones.
• Use new tanks only, as Canon's manual asks. It says a used tank may clog the nozzles and leave the printer unable to tell you properly when to replace it.

Canon's ink articles for the TS8320 and TS9120 say standard, XL and XXL tanks can be combined in one printer, so each black can be sized to how you print. Of the three PGI-280 sizes, the XXL (1967C001) carries the highest rated document yield: 600 pages on the sheet for every PGI-280 printer on this page. The standard tank is rated at 200 pages on most of those sheets and 250 on the TS8120 and TS9120 sheets. That works out to the XXL being rated for three times the standard tank's pages on most models and 2.4 times on those two. For photos, the CLI-281 XXL BK (1983C001) carries the highest rated photo yield of the three BK sizes: an estimated 858 4x6 prints on the TS6320 sheet and 802 on the TS8320 sheet.

Canon asks that each tank be used within six months of first use, which matters if you print little; see printing only a few pages a month. To compare sizes by price, divide each price by its rated pages, as in cost per page.

The two-cartridge printers hold one black FINE cartridge and one color, so there is no second black to confuse. Despite its number, the TS6420 takes PG-260 and CL-261 cartridges, not the TS6320's tanks. Canon's manuals for all four say that on Windows you can print for a while with whichever cartridge still has ink. The TS5320, TS202 and TR4520 manuals add that both cartridges must stay installed.

Other PIXMA generations pair two blacks under different numbers. Canon's sheets list PGI-270 PGBK with CLI-271 BK for the TS8020 and MG7720, PGI-250 with CLI-251 BK for the MG6320, and PGI-230 PGBK with CLI-231 BK for the TS8800 series. The TS8800 sheet is explicit: its pigment black is not used in its 4x6 photo test, nor its dye black in its letter document test, apart from a small amount for maintenance.