i560

The Canon i560 is a desktop printer that runs two ink lines side by side. Its color work draws on one family: BCI-6 Black, BCI-6 Cyan, BCI-6 Magenta and BCI-6 Yellow, plus photo cyan, photo magenta, red and green tanks, every one rated at about 280 pages — while documents get their own long-legged tank, a BCI-3E Black rated at about 420 pages. Nine tanks, each replaceable on its own.

Longevity is this printer's story. It belongs to the generation of Canon desktops that their owners still refuse to retire, and since ink is almost the entire running cost of a machine long since paid for, the price of tanks decides whether keeping one makes sense. The division of labor helps: color sessions spend the 280-page dye tanks, paperwork spends the 420-page document black, and neither job taxes the other line's ink.

Ink Cartridges for i560

Which cartridge should you buy?

Think in two budgets. Document printing burns the BCI-3E Black, so heavy paperwork argues for keeping that single on hand — it is also the longest-rated tank on the page. Photo and graphics work burns the BCI-6 colors unevenly, and singles let you replace the one shade that faded. For a full color refresh, the BCI-6 Set of 6 rebuilds the core row, the Set of 8 and Set of 14 add spares, and the Set of 18 is the one set that also stocks red and green. The mixed Set of 5 and Set of 11 restock both lines at once after a long idle spell.

Ink levels, chips and everyday use

No chips govern these tanks: the printer reads the tank itself, so a change is flagged by the machine's own sensing rather than by an electronic counter, and nothing needs resetting after a swap. Print regularly — a machine that sits for months asks its heads to restart dry — keep the lid closed against dust, and remember that the 280- and 420-page figures are estimates at standard coverage. A photo-heavy month will spend color tanks well inside their ratings, while plain documents track them closely.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the i560 have two different black cartridges?

They do different jobs. The BCI-6 black is a dye black that prints alongside the colors for graphics and photos, while the BCI-3E black is the document tank, rated at about 420 pages and made to carry text. The printer draws on each for its own kind of page.

What are the red and green tanks for?

They stretch the photo color range — red deepens warm tones and sunsets, green renders foliage and landscapes more faithfully. They sit on this model's shelf alongside the six core colors, and the Set of 18 is the restock that includes them.

Can I replace one color at a time?

Yes. Every tank on this shelf is an individual cartridge, so a faded cyan never obliges you to buy magenta. Replace what the printer flags, and leave the part-used tanks in place.

Are the BCI-6 and BCI-3E tanks interchangeable?

No. Each family fits its own role, and the colors never cross. The documented crossover is the black: the BCI-3E black also serves as the document black in BCI-6 machines like this one.

More printers that use the same cartridges

This shelf is shared well beyond the i560 — the same tanks serve Canon's BJC, S and PIXMA desktops and MultiPASS all-in-ones of the period: PIXMA MP780, PIXMA iP3000, PIXMA iP4000, PIXMA iP4000R, PIXMA iP5000, PIXMA iP6000D, PIXMA iP8500, S400, S450, S500, S520, S530D, S600, S630, S750, S800, S820D, S830D, S900, S9000, i550, i850, i860, i865, i900D, i950, i960, i9900, BJC-3000, BJC-6000, BJC-6100, BJC-8200, MultiPass F50, MultiPass F60, MultiPass F80, MultiPass MP700, MultiPass MP730, Multipass C755, Multipass F30, PIXMA MP750, PIXMA MP760