Frequently Asked Questions

What does the second cartridge in this 2-pack actually save?

Run the numbers both ways. Two GPR-31BK singles bought one at a time cost $183.84. This 2-pack is $165.35, so the pack saves $18.49 and brings the per-cartridge price down from $91.92 to about $82.68. That is the first rung of this family's ladder: the saving is real but modest, which is the honest shape of a 2-pack — its bigger prize is the shelf spare covered below.

Why does a copy room keep a spare cartridge on the shelf at all?

Because on a production machine, an empty cartridge is not a small inconvenience — it is a stopped job, a queue at the machine and a deadline renegotiated. Swapping in the shelf spare takes a couple of minutes and the run continues; waiting on a delivery takes however long the delivery takes. The second cartridge in this pack is uptime insurance: one in the machine, one within arm's reach, and the reorder conversation happens calmly instead of mid-crisis.

How much printing does this pack put on the shelf?

Two cartridges at 36,000 pages each: 72,000 pages of capacity. On a departmental imageRUNNER running 6,000 pages a month, that is about a year of black printing bought in one order. At 4,000 pages a month it stretches to roughly eighteen months. The ratings assume the standard 5% coverage, so dense copy-room work will trim those horizons somewhat — but even trimmed, this is a long stretch between toner orders.

What happens to the per-page cost at this rung?

It drops from about 0.26 cents a page on the single to roughly 0.23 cents across this pack. On its own that sounds like nothing; across 72,000 pages it is the same $18.49 the pack saves, just viewed from the other end. Production printing is a game of fractions of a cent multiplied by very large page counts, and this rung is where the multiplication starts working in your favor.

How should the spare cartridge be stored until it is needed?

Sealed in its bag, lying flat, in a cool dry cupboard away from sunlight and radiators. A compatible cartridge stored that way waits patiently for months without any loss — there is no benefit to installing it early, and an opened cartridge is better used than shelved. A small habit that pays off: write the arrival month on the box, so if more stock arrives later, the oldest cartridge always goes into the machine first.

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

Each cartridge in the pack carries the same cover as a single: a 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns. If the first cartridge misbehaves, the spare keeps the machine running while the faulty one goes back at no cost to you — which is another quiet advantage of holding a spare. Full terms are on our shipping and returns page.

About This Canon GPR-31 Black Toner 2 Pack

Two compatible Canon GPR-31 black cartridges (GPR-31BK), 36,000 pages each — 72,000 pages in the cupboard at about $82.68 a cartridge and roughly 0.23 cents a page, for the imageRUNNER machines built around the GPR-31 family. Orders ship from our warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California, and our support team answers Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST. Larger rungs of this family and the matching range are in our Canon toner range.