Canon PG-260/CL-261 Ink Cartridges

Canon PG-260 / CL-261 Ink Cartridges

The PG-260 / CL-261 family is the FINE generation of the TS5320 / TR7020 — asymmetric XL tiers, with black gaining more than color. Its shelf: PG-260 black (up to 180 pages; no compatible cartridge sold for this code yet); PG-260XL black (up to 400 pages, $34.49); CL-261 tri-color (up to 180 pages; no compatible cartridge sold for this code yet); CL-261XL tri-color (up to 300 pages, $38.99). It serves 6 printers, and every cartridge on this page is a Clever Supplies compatible covered by our Lifetime Warranty.

Most printing on the machines this family serves is mixed by nature — a document, then a photo, then a color page — and the two-slot FINE design takes that in stride: a pigment black and a tri-color, with the printhead built into the cartridge. Each change therefore renews the printhead and clears the streaks cleaning cycles leave behind. Replacement is a two-minute job with no tools, and standard and high-capacity tiers share the same slots wherever Canon offered both — on this family the XL step is asymmetric, with black gaining more than color.

Which PG-260 / CL-261 should you buy?

Black XL, on its own: the PG-260XL Black Ink Cartridge ($34.49) fills the document slot with the PG-260XL high-capacity cartridge — up to 400 pages, the bigger half of this family's asymmetric XL step.
Color XL, on its own: the CL-261XL Tri-Color Ink Cartridge ($38.99) fills the photo-and-color slot with the CL-261XL high-capacity cartridge — up to 300 pages per swap.
Stock up: the PG-260XL CL-261XL Ink Cartridges Set of 5 ($172.50) keeps spares on the shelf in the black-heavy mix these printers actually use.
Both positions at once: the PG-260XL CL-261XL Ink Cartridges Set of 2 ($71.97) replaces black and color together — the right move when both lights are on.

Chip, ink and everyday use

Ink levels are reported normally on this family: each cartridge carries a new compatible chip. The recipe underneath is the standard FINE one — pigment black for documents, dye tri-color for photos — and because the printhead is built into the cartridge rather than the printer, every cartridge change renews the printhead. On this platform, streaky output is a cartridge problem, not a service call. Store spares sealed, upright and out of sunlight, and open the pack only when the printer asks for the cartridge.