5 Things to Know About the Canon PIXMA TR8620a’s Ink System

It uses five separate ink cartridges, not four Most consumer inkjets get by with four cartridges, but the TR8620a uses five: a pigment-based black for crisp text, a dye-based black for photo blacks, and individual cyan, magenta, and yellow cartridges.

The two black cartridges serve different purposes The pigment black (PGI-280 PGBK) handles text and documents, while the dye-based black (CLI-281 BK) is for photo printing. You cannot substitute one for the other.

Standard and XL high-yield cartridges are available Both capacity options exist for every color. If you print regularly, the XL cartridges offer a lower cost per page.

You must replace each color individually When one color runs out, you only replace that cartridge. This wastes less ink than all-in-one cartridges.

The printer uses separate cartridges for each color Cyan, magenta, and yellow each have their own cartridge. This means you only replace the color that is empty, not a combined color cartridge.