Canon Selphy Square QX20 Ink & Paper Refills
Your Canon Selphy Square QX20 uses the XS-20L cartridge series, working on an integrated dye-sublimation ribbon cassette system that pairs a continuous multi-colour ink film directly with matching photographic sticker paper. Tailored for creative projects, scrapbooking, and on-the-go photo printing, this setup ensures that ink and paper remain locked in perfect consumption alignment. Because the thermal ribbon passes over each square print area in successive yellow, magenta, cyan, and protective clear coats, replacement behaviour requires swapping out the spent ribbon cassette alongside its exact matching batch of photo paper sheets.
What to expect from each cassette type
Print capacities for the XS-20L, XC-20L, and XC-60L series are determined by exact manufacturing standards rather than variable coverage metrics. Unlike regular desktop inkjet systems where text prints use less ink than full-bleed graphics, thermal dye-sublimation printheads vaporise a fixed area of the colour ribbon for every single pass. Real-world yield consistency across colours remains perfectly uniform because each sheet of photo paper consumes an identical footprint of the yellow, magenta, and cyan panels, guaranteeing that your ink ribbon and paper supply run out at the exact same moment.
Choosing the right paper and print setup
If you print snapshots or labels occasionally during creative travel, keeping a standard XS-20L or XC-20L bundle handy provides a compact supply. Conversely, if you print photos in larger volumes for scrapbooks or event displays, moving to the higher-capacity XC-60L packs significantly reduces your packaging footprint and ensures a continuous workflow.
Free delivery applies on all orders over $99 (conditions apply). To support rapid dispatch, we ship directly from automated logistics warehouses in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Check our extensive catalogue of Canon SELPHY Series to keep your creative projects fully supported, and consult our returns policy if you ever need to return an unsealed item.
Professional printing options and hardware supplies
The printing media ecosystem for this device contains specialized variations like the square-format XS-20L sticker sheets and the card-sized XC-20L and XC-60L print packs. When loading these supplies, ensure the paper is stacked with the glossy side facing the correct path to avoid transfer issues. Experience Tip: If you need to replace your hardware assembly or match your crafting setup, ensure your replacement matches the exact variant by checking original color-coded designations.
Pro Tip
Dye-sublimation printers are highly sensitive to microscopic dust particles, which can settle on the ink ribbon or paper sheets and cause faint white lines across your finished images. Always store your unused ribbon cartridges and paper cassettes inside their sealed plastic bags between crafting sessions to maintain a pristine, dust-free thermal print path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can I not purchase the ink ribbon cartridge and the photo paper sheets separately?
The thermal dye-sublimation process requires a fixed physical length of ink ribbon film to process a single sheet of paper. Canon packages these components as integrated kits because separating them would lead to mismatched waste, leaving you with useless leftover paper or film ribbon.
What is the functional difference between the XS-20L and the XC-60L refill packs?
The XS-20L pack contains square-format sticker paper with an ink ribbon configured for square prints, whereas the XC-20L and XC-60L packs introduce card-format paper profiles with corresponding ribbons, with the XC-60L delivering a larger batch size for high-volume crafting.
Does the ink fade over time if the prints are handled frequently or exposed to daylight?
No. The final pass of the thermal printhead applies a specialized, transparent protective overlay from the ribbon onto the print, which seals the ink layer to guard against moisture, fingerprint smudges, and UV fading for decades inside storage albums.
