Frequently Asked Questions

How much downtime does the extra cartridge in this box actually prevent?

Potentially the worst kind: the mid-job stop. This set carries the full GPR-36 family — GPR-36BK, GPR-36C, GPR-36M and GPR-36Y — plus one extra cartridge held back as a shelf spare. Every cartridge here is rated at up to 19,000 pages, so whichever slot empties first, the replacement is already in the building. On a production machine, the gap between "cartridge changed in ten minutes" and "job waits on a delivery" is what the fifth cartridge buys.

The step up from the 4-pack is $59.53 — what does that buy in pages?

One more cartridge at the set's economics. The 4-colour set is $235.74 and this set is $295.27 — about $59.05 a cartridge averaged across the five, against $71.06 for a colour single bought alone. In page terms the extra cartridge is another 19,000-page rating waiting in reserve, whichever colour or black slot turns out to need it first.

If we don't know which slot runs out first, how should the spare be treated?

As uncommitted stock. The point of holding the fifth cartridge back is that the machine, not the plan, decides where it goes — a heavy month of charts may call for cyan, a month of reports for black. Keep it sealed and dated, and let the first genuine empty claim it. What it should not become is a cartridge installed early "to use it up"; an installed spare stops being a spare.

Does holding a spare change the moment we reorder?

Yes — it moves the reorder from an emergency to a routine. When the spare goes into the machine, that is the signal to order the next set, and you then have a full cartridge's life — up to 19,000 pages in this family — as your delivery window. Sites without a spare reorder against an empty slot and print nervously until the box lands.

Does the spare age on the shelf while the other four are working?

Not in any way that matters if it is stored properly: sealed in its packaging, flat, in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources. Toner does not drain or settle into uselessness on a shelf. Date the box when it arrives and rotate stock oldest-first, and the spare will print like the others when its turn comes.

What cover applies — including if the faulty one turns out to be the spare?

All five cartridges carry our 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, the shelf spare included, each covered on its own merits. If a cartridge fails — whenever it is installed — it goes back under the same terms. Details are on our shipping and returns page, and our support team is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST.

About This Set

This is the GPR-36 5-cartridge set: the compatible GPR-36BK black, GPR-36C cyan, GPR-36M magenta and GPR-36Y yellow cartridges, each rated at up to 19,000 pages, plus one additional cartridge held as a shelf spare against the first slot to run dry. It is built for imageRUNNER production and copy-room sites where a toner stoppage costs more than the cartridge that prevents it. The set ships from one of our four US warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia or California, covered by our 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns. The full family is on the Canon toner page.

Its GPR-36 companions: the black cartridge (GPR-36BK), the yellow cartridge (GPR-36Y), the magenta cartridge (GPR-36M), the cyan cartridge (GPR-36C) and the GPR-36 8-cartridge set. On the machine side, this 5-cartridge set serves the ImageRunner Advance C2020, ImageRunner Advance C2030, ImageRunner Advance C2225 and ImageRunner C2020.