Canon PIXMA G3290

Canon PIXMA G3290 GI-21 Ink Bottles

The Canon PIXMA G3290 is a MegaTank refill-tank printer that prints with GI-21 Black (170 ml, about 6,000 pages), GI-21 Cyan (70 ml, about 7,700 pages), GI-21 Magenta (70 ml, about 7,700 pages), GI-21 Yellow (70 ml, about 7,700 pages). Clever Supplies compatible versions are filled to the original specification and carry a lifetime warranty.

For the G3290, the decision is rarely which bottle, but when: 170 ml of black rated at about 6,000 pages and 70 ml colors at about 7,700 mean long gaps between purchases. Buying the single bottle a low tank needs, when it needs it, keeps spending matched to printing instead of stocking ink that will sit in the tank anyway.

What you pay for differs by tank: the black bottle is pigment, while cyan, magenta and yellow are dye inks at 70 ml each. Canon's headline yields put the return at 6,000 pages in black and 7,700 per color, so the colors give the most pages of the four.

Which ink should you buy for the PIXMA G3290?

Compatible Canon GI-21 Black Ink Bottle — $19.49 — usually the first bottle to run low.
Compatible Canon GI-21 Cyan Ink Bottle — $14.99 — cyan alone for $14.99, the 70 ml bottle behind about 7,700 color pages.
Compatible Canon GI-21 Magenta Ink Bottle — $14.99 — magenta alone when that is the tank calling for ink, also 70 ml and about 7,700 pages.
Compatible Canon GI-21 Yellow Ink Bottle — $14.99 — yellow alone to restore bright tones without buying colors still in the tank, 70 ml at about 7,700 pages.
Compatible Canon GI-21 Set of 4 BCMY Ink Bottles — $53.94 — the complete four-bottle set for $53.94, cheaper than the $64.46 single-bottle total.
Compatible Canon GI-21 Set of 10 4 Black 2 Cyan 2 Magenta 2 Yellow Ink Bottles — $127.35 — ten bottles for $127.35, four black and two of each color, the economical route when this printer prints week in, week out.

Refilling and everyday use

Topping up costs a minute and no tools, and doing it carefully protects ink already paid for: open the right tank cap, seat the keyed bottle, and let the flow stop at the full line on its own. Never force a bottle into the wrong color tank, and wipe any drip before closing the cap. Part-used bottles keep until the next refill if they stay capped and upright, and printing a page or two every week or two keeps the nozzles clear.