Frequently Asked Questions

• Does every PGI-270 / CLI-271 printer have a slot for this cartridge?

  No. Only Canon PIXMA MG7720, Canon PIXMA TS8020, Canon PIXMA TS9020 carry the sixth Gray slot. The other PGI-270 / CLI-271 printers run five tanks and cannot use this cartridge at all, so check for the slot before you order.

• Which models take this gray tank?

  It fits Canon PIXMA MG7720, Canon PIXMA TS8020, Canon PIXMA TS9020. The complete verified list is in the Compatible Printers section on this page — check your model there before ordering.

• Why does a printer need gray ink of its own?

  Gray is the monochrome specialist in the set. It lays down the smooth mid-tones in black-and-white photos, the very shades a black-only mix would render grainy.

• How far does one gray tank go?

  It is rated at up to 3,350 pages — Canon's own published figure for the XL tier, and it applies in the six-tank photo models that carry a Gray slot. Page counts are measured on standard test pages at around 5% coverage, so your own yield moves with what you print: dense photos use far more ink than text.

• Is this the standard fill or the high-yield one?

  XL — the high-yield fill. Every single listed for this family is XL; Canon's standard fill, sold under the same family numbers, holds less. More ink in the tank means a lower cost for each page.

• How are the ink levels tracked on this cartridge?

  A newly made compatible chip does the reporting, feeding level readings to the printer so low-ink alerts behave as expected. Nothing here is a refilled Canon shell brought back to life with a reset chip.

• Will it work if my other tanks are genuine Canon?

  Yes. The printer treats every slot separately, so this tank can sit among genuine Canon cartridges — or the arrangement can run the other way — and printing carries on as normal. Swap colors over one at a time if you prefer.

• The printer put up a message once I installed it — what should I do?

  Confirm the message on screen, lift the cartridge out and seat it again until you hear the click, then restart the printer. A message that still returns usually points to the contacts: wipe the gold chip contacts with a dry lint-free cloth and put the cartridge back.

• Who makes this cartridge — is it Canon?

  Canon does not make it. This is a Clever Supplies compatible, built to the CLI-271XL specification and backed by our lifetime warranty; the Canon name is used only to say which printers it fits.

• What should I do with the empty gray tank after a swap?

  Keep it for a short while — it still has two jobs to do. First, it is the yardstick for the replacement: reprint a black-and-white photo you know, and if questions come up about the mid-tones, the empty CLI-271XL Gray is the physical record of exactly what came out. Second, its stamp carries the full code, which is what you match when reordering for the sixth slot. Once the new tank has proven itself across a few monochrome prints, send the empty for recycling rather than household trash.