Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a page from this family cost more than from the bigger GPR cartridges?

Simple arithmetic, not a defect. The GPR-36BK is rated at 19,000 pages — less than half the capacity of the GPR-30 — and at $78.02 that works out to about 0.41 cents a page, against roughly a quarter of a cent in the higher-yield families. Cartridges for smaller, lighter-duty imageRUNNER machines carry less toner per unit, so the fixed cost of the cartridge itself is spread over fewer pages. If your machine takes the GPR-36, this is its honest running cost — the comparison that matters is against the name-brand GPR-36 price, not against a cartridge your machine cannot use.

How long does 19,000 pages last in a mid-size office?

At 1,500 pages a month, about a year; at 3,000 pages a month, around six months. Those figures assume the standard 5% page coverage behind the rating, and office output varies around it — a month of dense reports draws the cartridge down faster than a month of letters and emails. For most mid-size machines, plan on a cartridge change being a twice-a-year event at moderate volume, and let your own page counter refine the rhythm after the first cartridge.

When is the single the right buy — and when is it not?

The single is right as a first compatible cartridge in a machine that has run name-brand toner until now, and as a one-off replacement when the restocking decision belongs to someone else or next quarter. It is not a substitute for the pack ladder: this family's packs cut the per-cartridge price by nearly $10 at the first step alone, so a machine with steady, proven volume that is fed singles all year is paying for the same toner in the most expensive sequence available.

Is this a Canon cartridge?

It is a compatible GPR-36BK, built by a third-party manufacturer to the Canon GPR-36 specification — the same fit in the imageRUNNER machines that take the GPR-36 cartridge, with the same 19,000-page yield target. It is not made by Canon, which is why it is priced at $78.02 instead of the name-brand figure. The backing comes from us instead: the cover in the last answer below stands in place of the brand's.

Pages are coming out with grey shading in the background — cartridge or machine?

Start with the cartridge test, because it costs nothing. Remove the GPR-36BK, hold it level, rock it gently end to end a few times, and print again: toner that has settled or run low often announces itself as background shading and uneven density first. If the shading clears, the cartridge was the story. If a fresh cartridge produces the same shading, the cause sits in the machine, not the toner — and no cartridge swap will fix it, so that is the point to call for service rather than order more toner.

What cover does the cartridge come with?

A 1-year warranty and 1-year free returns, on this cartridge as on every cartridge we sell. If the GPR-36BK fades early, streaks, or falls well short of reasonable yield expectations within that year, it goes back at no cost to you. The full terms are on our shipping and returns page.

About This Canon GPR-36 Black Toner Cartridge

A single compatible Canon GPR-36 black cartridge (GPR-36BK) rated for up to 19,000 pages, at about 0.41 cents a page, for the mid-volume imageRUNNER machines built around the GPR-36 family. Orders ship from our warehouses in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California, routed from whichever is closest to you, and our support team answers Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM CST. The pack rungs of this family are in our Canon toner range.

Alongside it sit the yellow cartridge (GPR-36Y), the magenta cartridge (GPR-36M), the cyan cartridge (GPR-36C), the GPR-36 4-cartridge set and the GPR-36 black 2 pack. This black cartridge (GPR-36BK) fits the ImageRunner Advance C2020, ImageRunner Advance C2030, ImageRunner Advance C2225 and ImageRunner C2020 — every machine on the GPR-36 list takes this same cartridge family.