Canon CLI-251XL Magenta Ink Tank Review: Worth It? (8.2/10)
“Never had a cartridge that didn't work.” That kind of certainty shows up repeatedly around Canon CLI-251XL Magenta Ink Tank—but so do complaints that the ink can feel “pricey” and, for some, “run out rather fast.” Verdict: a dependable OEM-style magenta option with clear quality upside, held back by ongoing cost concerns. Score: 8.2/10
Quick Verdict
Conditional Yes — buy if you want predictable compatibility and photo-quality output; hesitate if you’re trying to minimize ink costs per page.
| What the feedback emphasizes | What users say | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Reliability / compatibility | “work perfect with my cannon printer. never had a cartridge that didn't work.” (ComboInk reviewer john) | People who hate printer errors/drama |
| Print quality (especially photos) | “the quality is just not the same, particularly when printing photos.” (Best Buy reviewer) | Photo printing and color-critical work |
| Ease of install | “pop it in and it works. no drama.” (Best Buy reviewer) | Anyone who wants plug-and-print |
| Price frustration | “printer ink is so expensive.” (Best Buy reviewer) | Budget-focused buyers (as a caution) |
| Longevity disputes | “the colors run out rather fast.” (Best Buy reviewer) | Heavy printers (watch usage) |
| Occasional handling issues | “they frequently leak when they are opened to install” (Best Buy reviewer) | People sensitive to mess |
Claims vs Reality
Canon’s official messaging leans hard on consistent output and system-level performance: Canon Canada describes genuine CLI-251 XL ink as producing “exceptionally vibrant colours and crystal-clear deep colours” and warns that “third party inks may cause photo colours to fade faster.” Digging deeper into user reports, the quality and compatibility narrative largely holds—especially among buyers who tried generics and returned to Canon.
A Best Buy reviewer drew a sharp comparison after experimenting with non-OEM options: “have tried ‘generic brands’ but the quality is just not the same, particularly when printing photos.” That same thread of “works without issue” appears in another vivid story: “I tried the knock off brands… it becomes a several hour drama… using the actual canon ink is really the only thing the printer likes. pop it in and it works. no drama.” For users who print family photos, art reproductions, or anything where color saturation matters, these stories reinforce Canon’s quality-and-compatibility pitch.
Where the marketing optimism meets resistance is cost and perceived lifespan. Office Depot’s listing for the CLI-251XL magenta notes it “yields up to 660 pages,” positioning XL as a productivity play. Yet multiple reviewers frame reality in emotional terms: “printer ink is so expensive,” and another says, “the only gripe I have is that the colors run out rather fast.” That gap isn’t necessarily a contradiction—page yields depend heavily on coverage—but it does show that “high yield” doesn’t always feel high yield to real households printing colorful pages.
Finally, Canon’s quality claims imply clean, trouble-free printing (“won’t have strange lines or streaks”). Most feedback echoes that, but one Best Buy reviewer flags a practical, unglamorous issue that marketing doesn’t spotlight: “they frequently leak when they are opened to install… hard to wash off your hands.” For users who swap cartridges in a hurry (home office, classrooms), that kind of mess can matter more than a spec sheet.
Cross-Platform Consensus
Universally Praised
The strongest through-line across platforms is “it just works,” particularly for people burned by compatibility hassles. On Best Buy, one reviewer frames the OEM experience as stress avoidance: “using the actual canon ink is really the only thing the printer likes. pop it in and it works. no drama.” For busy home-office users or anyone printing last-minute school forms, that narrative is less about ink chemistry and more about reliability under time pressure.
Another recurring pattern emerged around perceived print quality and consistency—especially when the output includes photos. A Best Buy customer who tried alternatives concluded, “the quality is just not the same, particularly when printing photos… a little pricy, but worth it.” That “worth it” argument tends to come from users who value predictable color and fewer printing defects over the cheapest cartridge price.
Ease of installation also reads as a quiet but meaningful “quality of life” feature. Best Buy reviewers repeatedly treat installation as the baseline expectation, but still call it out: “easy installation,” “easy to order and pick up… easy to use,” and “it puts ink on the paper when i hit print.” For less technical users—or households sharing one printer—low-friction installs reduce the chance of mis-seating a cartridge or triggering warnings.
Across the compatible-cartridge review feed (ComboInk), the tone is even more emphatic about out-of-box success, though it’s specifically for a compatible CLI-251XL magenta replacement rather than Canon OEM. One verified buyer (michael) said: “affordable and work out perfect out of the package.” Another verified buyer (daniel) wrote: “works perfectly with our canon printer.” While those quotes come from a compatible seller context, they reinforce that “no fuss” is the core metric users care about.
- Most repeated praise: “works… no drama” (Best Buy) and “work out perfect out of the package” (ComboInk).
- Quality emphasis: “particularly when printing photos” where OEM looks “worth it” (Best Buy).
- Installation: “easy installation” and quick turnaround purchasing experiences (Best Buy).
Common Complaints
Price is the complaint that refuses to go away, even among satisfied buyers. A recurring pattern emerged where users praised quality and then immediately protested the economics. One Best Buy reviewer plainly said: “printer ink is so expensive.” Another wrote, “ink works fine but it is a little pricey.” Even when the purchase experience was smooth—“best buy is very easy to order from… ink came quickly”—the reviewer withheld a perfect rating because “printer ink is so expensive.”
Perceived short lifespan is the second big friction point, and it often shows up as disappointment rather than failure. One Best Buy customer said, “this is my 2nd time purchasing… the only gripe i have is that the colors run out rather fast. i am satisfied with the price though. that makes up for it!” That’s an important nuance: some users accept faster depletion as the tradeoff for quality and fewer printer headaches, but they still want better longevity for the money.
Mess and leakage—while not the dominant narrative—can be a deal-breaker for specific user types. A Best Buy reviewer complained: “they frequently leak when they are opened to install… hard to wash off your hands.” For people who swap cartridges at a desk (shared office printer, small business checkout counter), a leaky install can create real annoyance and downtime even if the prints look great.
Lastly, package expectations can frustrate buyers using printers that need additional colors. One Best Buy review notes: “the only reason for the 4 is my printer requires an additional grey which isn't included.” For users running models that rely on a gray cartridge for certain photo output, “complete set” shopping can still lead to extra purchases.
- Most common negatives: “so expensive” / “pricey” (Best Buy).
- Longevity complaint: “colors run out rather fast” (Best Buy).
- Handling issue: “frequently leak when… opened to install” (Best Buy).
- System requirement mismatch: “requires an additional grey” (Best Buy).
Divisive Features
High-yield value is where the stories split. Retail specs position CLI-251XL magenta as “high yield” (Office Depot lists “yields up to 660 pages”), implying fewer replacements and better cost efficiency. Yet user satisfaction depends heavily on printing habits. Light-to-moderate users tend to treat XL as convenience—buying multipacks “costs less in the long run,” as one Best Buy reviewer put it—while heavier color printers are more likely to say the colors “run out rather fast.”
OEM versus compatible is also divisive in spirit, even though the dataset’s direct quotes skew toward OEM loyalty. Some users are adamant that Canon is the only path to hassle-free printing: “my canon printer knows the difference… several hour drama” with knockoffs. Meanwhile, compatible-cartridge buyers in the ComboInk review feed celebrate affordability and functionality: verified buyer john said, “great product, pricing and service… i use them 100% of the time for ink refills.” The tension isn’t just quality; it’s risk tolerance and how much “printer drama” a person is willing to endure.
- “High yield” feels real for some, but not for those printing lots of color pages (Office Depot vs Best Buy longevity complaints).
- OEM loyalty is driven by hassle avoidance; compatible loyalty is driven by price and repeated success (Best Buy vs ComboInk).
Trust & Reliability
Trust, here, is less about scams and more about whether the cartridge will be recognized, install cleanly, and print without error codes. The strongest “trust signal” in user language is the absence of failure: ComboInk reviewer john said, “never had a cartridge that didn't work,” and Best Buy reviewers describe the OEM experience as “pop it in and it works.”
Longer-term reliability also shows up indirectly through repeat purchasing. A Best Buy reviewer noted, “this is my 2nd time purchasing this product. i love it,” which implies consistent outcomes over multiple replacement cycles. Similarly, in the compatible-cartridge review feed, verified buyer daniel reports repeat orders: “have ordered these compatible cartridges several times and they have worked fine with my canon printer.” That said, the same repeat buyer also flags that colors can “run out rather fast,” suggesting reliability doesn’t always equal satisfaction with longevity.
Alternatives
Only a few alternatives are explicitly discussed in the data, and they split into two camps: generic/knockoff cartridges and compatible replacements from third-party sellers. The most detailed “alternative” story comes from a Best Buy reviewer who tried generics and returned to Canon: “have tried ‘generic brands’ but the quality is just not the same… yes, they are a little pricy, but worth it.” Another describes a more severe failure mode: with knockoffs, “it becomes a several hour drama… retrying and begging with the printer to agree that there is ink.”
On the other side, compatible cartridges are framed as a price-first solution that can still work well for certain users. In the ComboInk review feed, verified buyer michael said the cartridges were “affordable and work out perfect out of the package,” and verified buyer jennifer emphasized convenience: “so easy to use and there is no mess… the colors are bright and the ink lasts a while.” For cost-conscious users who’ve found a compatible supplier that consistently works with their printer, those reports present a viable alternative—though the dataset also shows why some buyers avoid the risk entirely.
Price & Value
Current pricing in the provided data spans a wide range depending on where and how you buy. Amazon lists a Canon CLI-251XL CMY set at $58.75, while Office Depot shows the magenta cartridge around the low-to-mid $20s in its listing context. eBay market listings show even more variation (including open box and individual colors), which can appeal to bargain hunters but may introduce condition variability.
Digging deeper into user reports, value judgments hinge on what “value” means to the buyer. For some, the value is time saved and reduced frustration: “pop it in and it works. no drama.” For others, the value is output quality—especially photos: “worth it,” even if “a little pricy.” But for budget-driven households, the emotional reaction is persistent: “printer ink is so expensive,” even when the buyer is otherwise satisfied.
Buying tips implied by the community lean toward bundling and planning ahead. One Best Buy reviewer recommends the logic of having a full set on hand: “it really makes so much more sense and costs less in the long run,” especially because cartridges “run out at the absolutely worst time.” That’s less a bargain strategy and more a downtime-avoidance strategy.
- Expect price sensitivity: many happy buyers still complain it’s “pricey” (Best Buy).
- Multipacks can feel “costs less in the long run” for frequent printers (Best Buy).
- Secondary markets (eBay) show wide price dispersion and condition differences.
FAQ
Q: Is the Canon CLI-251XL Magenta Ink Tank easy to install?
A: Yes—many buyers describe it as straightforward and hassle-free. A Best Buy reviewer said, “pop it in and it works. no drama,” and others emphasize “easy installation.” One exception: a reviewer reported cartridges “frequently leak when they are opened to install,” suggesting careful handling matters.
Q: Does it produce good photo quality compared to generic ink?
A: Often yes, based on buyer comparisons. A Best Buy reviewer said they tried “generic brands” and found “the quality is just not the same, particularly when printing photos,” calling Canon “worth it” despite the price. This matters most for photo printing or color-critical projects.
Q: Is the CLI-251XL magenta actually “high yield”?
A: It depends on what you print. Office Depot lists the magenta XL cartridge as yielding “up to 660 pages,” but some buyers still feel the “colors run out rather fast.” Heavy color coverage and photo prints can make any page-yield rating feel optimistic.
Q: Are compatible cartridges a safe alternative?
A: Some users report great results, others avoid them. On ComboInk, verified buyer michael said compatibles were “affordable and work out perfect out of the package.” Meanwhile, a Best Buy reviewer described knockoffs causing a “several hour drama,” saying OEM Canon ink is “the only thing the printer likes.”
Q: What’s the biggest downside people mention?
A: Price and perceived longevity. Multiple Best Buy reviewers say “printer ink is so expensive” or “a little pricey,” and at least one reports “the colors run out rather fast.” A smaller subset mentions mess: “frequently leak when… opened to install.”
Final Verdict
Buy Canon CLI-251XL Magenta Ink Tank if you’re a photo printer, a home-office user who can’t afford downtime, or anyone tired of compatibility warnings—because the dominant story is “pop it in and it works. no drama.” Avoid if you’re printing high-coverage color pages on a tight budget and already resent that “printer ink is so expensive.” Pro tip from the community: keep spares—cartridges “run out at the absolutely worst time,” and having a full supply can “cost less in the long run.”
