Frequently Asked Questions

The printer says a colour is low, but which one — how do I tell?

Print something with distinct colour blocks — a chart, a logo page, a test image. The failing colour gives itself away by what is missing: weak blues and greens point to cyan. On paper, this cartridge — the Canon 131 cyan, short code 131C — is the one responsible for the blue half of the spectrum, so if your blues have gone pale or greenish while reds and yellows still look honest, cyan is your culprit.

Is 131C the same cartridge as the one listed with a long Canon number?

Yes. 131C is the short code; the same Canon 131 cyan is also catalogued by its Canon part number, 6271B001AA. Both listings describe one compatible cyan cartridge rated at up to 1,500 pages and priced at $34.70. Searchers arrive by both routes, so we keep both doors open — order from either listing and the cartridge that arrives is the same.

Why does cyan seem to run out before the other colours?

Because of what offices actually print: charts, headings, links, logos and presentation graphics lean heavily on blue and green, and every one of those elements drinks cyan. Magenta and yellow get used more sparingly in typical documents. So in the Canon 131 family, cyan commonly finishes first even though all three colours carry the same 1,500-page rating and the same $34.70 price.

What is the running cost of this cyan?

Around 2.31 cents per page across its rating — $34.70 divided by 1,500 pages. For comparison, the family's black cartridge (131BK, the 131H) delivers pages at about 1.45 cents, because black is rated higher at 2,400 pages. None of that makes the cyan poor value; it simply reflects that colour pages carry more toner than text pages.

Will changing only the cyan upset the colour balance?

No — each colour is an independent cartridge, and replacing the depleted one restores its share of the mix. The other colours (131M magenta and 131Y yellow) keep whatever life they have left. Colour balance problems after a change usually trace back to a different colour also being near empty, not to the new cartridge.

What if the new cyan prints badly out of the box?

Then the warranty does its job: every cartridge carries a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, covering early failure, leaks and poor output, with the detail on our shipping and returns page. We ship from warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California, and you can reach support Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST.

About This Canon 131 Cyan Toner Cartridge

One compatible Canon 131 cyan toner cartridge under its short code 131C — the same cartridge listed by Canon part number 6271B001AA — rated at up to 1,500 pages for $34.70, roughly 2.31 cents a page. Its family partners are the black 131BK (2,400 pages), magenta 131M and yellow 131Y. Find singles and the rest of the Canon range in our Canon toner collection.