Canon 046 vs 046H Toner: Standard or High Yield? 🖨️

Canon's i-SENSYS colour laser printers are a popular choice in Australian home offices and small businesses — compact, reliable, and capable of sharp colour output. The 046 toner range is what keeps them running, and choosing between standard and high-yield is one of the most common questions we see.

Ollie and Noodle have done the legwork (all eight of them 🐾). Here's the full breakdown.

Which Printers Use Canon 046 and 046H Toner?

The Canon 046 and 046H toner range fits these colour laser models:

• Canon i-SENSYS MF732Cdw — compact colour laser all-in-one
• Canon i-SENSYS MF734Cdw — mid-range with fax capability
• Canon i-SENSYS MF735Cdw — higher-spec all-in-one with touchscreen
• Canon i-SENSYS LBP653Cdw — colour laser printer (no scan/copy)
• Canon i-SENSYS LBP654Cdw — updated LBP colour laser

These are serious office printers — not cheap inkjets. The toner decision matters more here, both for cost and for minimising disruption.

Page Yield: Canon 046 vs Canon 046H

| Cartridge | Standard 046 | High Yield 046H | |-----------|-------------|----------------| | Black (BK) | ~2,200 pages | ~6,300 pages | | Cyan (C) | ~2,300 pages | ~5,000 pages | | Magenta (M) | ~2,300 pages | ~5,000 pages | | Yellow (Y) | ~2,300 pages | ~5,000 pages |

Yields at 5% coverage per ISO 19798.

The 046H black delivers nearly 3× the pages of the standard. Colour cartridges give you more than double. For an office printer running at any meaningful volume, that's significant.

Cost Per Page: Genuine vs Compatible

At typical Australian office supply prices:

| Cartridge | Genuine Price (approx.) | Pages | Cost per Page | |-----------|------------------------|-------|--------------| | 046 Black (standard) | ~$75 | 2,200 | ~3.4¢ | | 046H Black (high yield) | ~$130 | 6,300 | ~2.1¢ | | 046 Cyan/Magenta/Yellow | ~$70 | 2,300 | ~3.0¢ | | 046H Cyan/Magenta/Yellow | ~$115 | 5,000 | ~2.3¢ | | Compatible 046H Black (FetchInk) | ~$35–45 | 6,300 | ~0.6–0.7¢ | | Compatible 046H CMY (FetchInk) | ~$30–40 | 5,000 | ~0.6–0.8¢ |

Compatible 046H from FetchInk lands at roughly 3–4× lower cost per page than genuine standard cartridges, and 2–3× lower than genuine high-yield.

For a small office printing 2,000 pages/month (a common workload for this class of printer):

| Scenario | Annual toner cost (est.) | |----------|------------------------| | All genuine standard 046 | ~$2,400 | | All genuine 046H | ~$1,500 | | All compatible 046H (FetchInk) | ~$420–550 |

That's a saving of roughly $950–$1,980/year compared to genuine cartridges for a modest office workload.

When to Choose Standard 046 vs High Yield 046H

Choose standard Canon 046 if:

• You print very low volumes (under 200 pages/month total)
• You're testing the printer before committing to bulk cartridges
• Storage space for extra toner cartridges is a genuine constraint

Choose Canon 046H if:

• You print regularly — any office or home office use
• You want to minimise how often staff have to change cartridges
• You're buying compatible (the yield advantage is even stronger)
• You're managing toner costs as a business expense

For any Australian office or home office printing more than 200 pages/month: compatible 046H across all four colours is the clear optimum.

Full Set vs Individual Cartridges

The Canon 046H comes in four cartridges: black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. In practice, black runs out faster (most documents are black-only). A common strategy:

• Black: Compatible 046H — high-volume, highest priority for yield
• Colours: Compatible 046H — worth it for the yield; genuine 046 for colours is disproportionately expensive per page

Buying a full compatible set (BK + CMY) from FetchInk gives you the best economics across the board.

Compatible Toner and Warranty in Australia

Under Australian Consumer Law, using compatible toner cartridges cannot void your printer warranty. Canon (like all manufacturers) cannot legally enforce a warranty restriction based solely on your choice of toner brand. The ACCC has confirmed this position.

FetchInk's compatible Canon 046H cartridges are manufactured to meet the page yield and quality specifications of the genuine Canon cartridge.

FetchInk Recommendation

For Canon i-SENSYS MF732Cdw, MF734Cdw, MF735Cdw, LBP653Cdw, and LBP654Cdw owners: go straight to compatible Canon 046H. Nearly 3× the yield on black, 2× on colour, and a fraction of the genuine price.

Browse compatible Canon 046H at FetchInk — flat-rate $18 shipping or free over $200.

Summary

• ✅ Canon 046H black: ~6,300 pages (vs ~2,200 for standard) — nearly 3× yield
• ✅ Canon 046H colour: ~5,000 pages each (vs ~2,300 for standard) — 2× yield
• ✅ Compatible 046H from FetchInk: ~0.6–0.8¢/page vs ~3.0–3.4¢ for genuine standard
• ✅ Fits MF732Cdw, MF734Cdw, MF735Cdw, LBP653Cdw, LBP654Cdw
• ✅ Compatible toner does not void printer warranty under Australian Consumer Law
• ✅ Annual saving vs genuine standard: ~$950–$1,980 at typical small office volumes