Which ink does the Canon PIXMA TR8620 use?

The PIXMA TR8620 uses Canon's PG-280 and CL-281 family: a PG-280 pigment black and a CL-281 tri-color, both offered at a standard size and as an XL. Four part numbers, and the XL versions carry the same PG-280 and CL-281 stem so a listing that omits the suffix is worth reading twice.

The XL is the better buy on both sides, though not by the landslide some Canon models show. A PG-280XL is rated 400 pages for $27.99, so 7.00c a page, against 200 pages for $19.99 on the standard, or 9.99c. A CL-281XL is 300 pages for $29.99, so 10.00c, where the 165 page standard costs 13.33c. That is 30 percent off the black and 25 percent off the colour. The XL pair is $57.98 and the standard pair $41.98. The CL-281XL does better than its price suggests, fifth cheapest of the 23 tri-colour cartridges we price.

Put this machine next to Canon's newer PIXMA TS3720 and the older one wins. The TS3720 came out four years later and its PG-275XL black costs 8.33c a page, about 19 percent more than the PG-280XL fitted here. A more recent model is not automatically cheaper to run, and the cartridge family a printer was designed around is the spec you live with longest.

Canon has not applied firmware authentication to this family, and compatible PG-280 and CL-281 cartridges are widely sold and work. That is the single largest saving available on the TR8620, larger than the XL step, and it stays available after updates rather than being withdrawn by one. Where care is still needed is in choosing the seller, so buy from somewhere that guarantees the chip is recognised and will take the cartridge back.

For the faults that actually turn up, start with the tri-color. Because cyan, magenta and yellow share one body, a photo that comes out with a colour cast is often one channel exhausted rather than a printer at fault, and the cartridge is finished even with two colours still in it. Streaks on an otherwise correct page point at the printhead instead, and a nozzle check plus one cleaning cycle is the right first move. If the TR8620 reports a cartridge it will not accept, check that the orange protective cap is off, wipe the gold contacts dry, and reseat until the cover closes without force. A support code on the screen is worth writing down before you clear it, since it names the fault far more precisely than the message beside it.