Frequently Asked Questions

One in the printer, one in the drawer — is that the whole idea of this 2-pack?

Yes, and it is a rhythm that suits how most people actually run out of toner: at the worst possible moment, mid-print-run, with no spare in the building. One Canon 125 cartridge (125BK) goes in today, the second stays sealed in the drawer, and the next low-toner warning becomes a two-minute swap instead of an emergency order. Between them the pack holds a rated 3,200 pages.

What does the second cartridge in the pack really cost?

Two singles would cost you $52.92. This pack is $34.43, so the pair saves $18.49 — and looked at per cartridge, you are paying $17.22 instead of $26.46. In page terms the pack works out to roughly 1.08 cents per page against 1.65 cents buying singly. The second cartridge is effectively discounted by about a third for the promise that you will take it home today.

Will the spare cartridge go stale sitting in the drawer?

Not in any realistic timeframe. Toner is a dry powder, not an ink — it does not dry out — and a cartridge kept sealed in its bag, stored flat in a normal room away from heat and damp, keeps for a long stretch. The practical shelf life is measured in years, and a spare bought for a printer in daily use will be installed long before age matters.

Does the pack make sense if we print very little?

Run the numbers honestly. At 1,600 pages per cartridge, this pack is 3,200 pages of printing. If that is three years of output for you, the $18.49 saving is real but you are tying up cash in a drawer for a long time — a single may suit you better. If 3,200 pages is six months of printing, the pack is plainly the smarter buy. Volume decides, not the discount.

Can I split this pack between a Canon 125 printer and a Canon 126 printer?

No — the two cartridges in this pack are both Canon 125 (125BK), and the Canon 126 line is a different cartridge for different printers despite the similar name and price. They do not interchange. If your office runs one machine from each family, each needs its own pack; the 126 equivalent of this listing carries the same spare-in-the-drawer logic at 2,100 pages per cartridge.

What if one of the two cartridges turns out to be a dud?

Then it is replaced or refunded on its own — cover on this compatible pack runs cartridge by cartridge under a 1-year warranty with 1-year free returns, detailed on our shipping and returns page. A fault in one never means returning its healthy partner. Packs ship from whichever of our Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia or California warehouses is closest, and support is staffed Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST.

When the box arrives, what is worth checking before it goes in the drawer?

Thirty seconds of checking protects the whole point of the pack. Count two cartridges, confirm both bags are still sealed, and read the code on each box: it should say 125BK, the Canon 125 cartridge — not the similar-looking Canon 126, which belongs to a different printer family. A 2-pack only works as insurance if the spare on the shelf is genuinely the right cartridge, sealed and ready, on the day the installed one gives up.

Does it matter which of the two cartridges I install first?

Not at all — the two 125BK cartridges in the pack are identical, so install whichever you pick up. What is worth doing is writing the arrival month on the spare's box before it goes in the drawer. Months later, when the spare finally goes in, you will know exactly how long it waited, and the note becomes the first entry in your real consumption record for this printer.

We have two Canon 125 printers in different rooms — can one 2-pack serve both?

Yes. Both machines take the same 125BK cartridge, so the pack can be split, one cartridge to each room, or held centrally and issued to whichever printer fades first. Each room then simply follows its own rhythm. The one habit to keep is reordering when the first room's cartridge is installed, because from that moment the shared spare is gone and both printers are running on what is already in them.

What do I do with the first cartridge when it finally gives up?

Keep it for a few days after the spare goes in. The empty 125BK is your comparison unit: if the new cartridge's output ever looks questionable, the old one's behavior is your evidence of how the printer printed before. Once the spare has printed cleanly through several ordinary days, send the empty to a local cartridge recycling point rather than general trash, and let the drawer hold nothing but the next sealed spare.

About This Canon 125 Toner Cartridge 2-Pack

Two Canon 125 cartridges (125BK), 1,600 rated pages each, for $34.43 — $17.22 a cartridge against $26.46 bought singly, and roughly 1.08 cents a page. It is the pack for a printer that cannot afford to sit idle waiting on a delivery: one working, one waiting. Heavier users will find the same cartridge cheaper per unit in the 3, 5 and 10 packs across the Canon toner range.