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Canon 3488C001 PFI-030MBK Matte Black Ink 55ml — main product image
Canon

Canon 3488C001 PFI-030MBK Matte Black Ink 55ml

★★★★★4.6 (185 reviews)

LUCIA TD pigment technology delivers water-resistant, archival-quality matte black output for large-format poster and blueprint printing on Canon imagePROGRAF TA printers.

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Overview

The Canon PFI-030MBK is the matte black ink cartridge for the imagePROGRAF TA-20 and TA-30, Canon's compact 24-inch large-format printers aimed at architects, engineers, and print studios producing posters, CAD drawings, and blueprints. LUCIA TD is Canon's pigment-based ink technology, and in the matte black variant it is specifically tuned for uncoated and matte media — the bond paper rolls and poster stock that define engineering and architectural output. The result is a deep, neutral black with no metameric shift, meaning the output looks consistent under different lighting conditions on the print floor or at a client presentation.

At 55ml, the cartridge is matched to the TA series' mid-duty design. It won't overwhelm a low-volume office, and it won't bottleneck a shop printing a few large-format sheets daily. The genuine OEM formulation matters here: Canon's LUCIA TD inks are calibrated for the TA series' print head nozzle geometry, and third-party pigment inks with different viscosities can cause nozzle clogging that requires costly head cleaning cycles or service. For TA-20 and TA-30 operators who want to protect uptime and output consistency, using factory ink is the straightforward call.

Key Features

Product Type :Ink Or Toner

Package Dimensions: 17.2 H x 2.8 L x 8 W (centimeters)

Package Weight: 0.096 kilograms

Country of Origin : Thailand

Specifications

Ink Type
Matte Black Pigment
Ink Technology
LUCIA TD
Capacity
55ml
Compatible Printers
Canon imagePROGRAF TA-20, TA-30
Water Resistance
Yes (with Canon water-resistant media)
Applications
Poster printing, engineering drawings, architectural blueprints
Country of Origin
Thailand
Package Dimensions
17.2 H × 8 W × 2.8 D cm
Package Weight
0.096 kg
Brand
Canon
Model
3488C001 (PFI-030MBK)

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • LUCIA TD pigment formulation produces dense, neutral matte blacks on uncoated poster and engineering media — no bronzing or color cast.
  • Water-resistant output on compatible Canon media makes prints suitable for site use where blueprints may be handled with wet hands.
  • 55ml capacity is sized appropriately for the TA-20/TA-30's workload without being so large that ink sits unused long enough to degrade.
  • Genuine OEM cartridge ensures compatibility with Canon's color management profiles and preserves print head warranty coverage.
  • Designed for the specific ink delivery system of the TA series, reducing the head-clogging risk associated with third-party pigment inks.

👎 Cons

  • Water resistance is conditional — it requires Canon-certified water-resistant media; standard bond paper prints are not protected from moisture.
  • 55ml is a modest capacity for high-volume print environments; shops running continuous production will cycle through cartridges quickly.
  • Matte Black is not interchangeable with Photo Black for the same printer — switching between media types requires swapping cartridges, which can waste ink during the changeover purge cycle.
  • Single-use cartridge with no refill pathway; cost-per-ml is higher than bulk ink systems used on competing wide-format platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is designed exclusively for the Canon imagePROGRAF TA-20 and TA-30 large-format printers. Installing it in any other imagePROGRAF model is not supported and may cause errors or print quality issues.
Matte Black pigment ink is optimized for uncoated and matte media — poster stock, plain paper, engineering bond paper, and architectural trace. Photo Black is formulated for coated and glossy media. Using MBK on matte surfaces produces denser, more neutral blacks than Photo Black would on the same substrate.
Canon specifies water resistance when the ink is used with Canon's own water-resistant media. On non-water-resistant substrates, the pigment sits more on the surface and is more vulnerable to moisture. For blueprints or posters that will be handled in wet environments, pair this ink with a compatible Canon water-resistant roll or sheet stock.
The cartridge holds 55ml of ink. Yield varies significantly by coverage, media type, and print mode — Canon does not publish a fixed page yield for the PFI-030 line because large-format output is measured in square footage rather than pages. High-coverage architectural drawings will exhaust the cartridge faster than line-art engineering prints.
It is a genuine Canon OEM cartridge manufactured in Thailand. Using genuine ink protects the TA-20/TA-30 print head warranty and ensures color profile accuracy when using Canon ICC profiles.

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