HP TECH TAKES /...
Exploring today's technology for tomorrow's possibilities
Subscribe
Standard Ink vs. High Yield Ink Cartridges
Stephen Mash
|
May 12, 2022
Selecting the correct cartridge type is crucial when choosing the best ink cartridges for your printer. However, there will be the additional choice between a standard ink cartridge and a high yield ink cartridge for some printers.
So what does XL mean on ink cartridges and what is the difference between XL ink and regular ink cartridges?
This article will help you decide whether standard and high yield cartridges are the right ones for your circumstances. We’ll also show you examples of HP’s extensive range of inkjet printers that support both cartridge types to help you navigate your options when selecting your next ink-based printer. Looking at how many pages an ink cartridge can print will also help when making your decision.
Standard Ink Cartridges
A standard HP ink cartridge is not just a container full of ink; it includes the complete mechanism for transferring the ink onto the paper within the printer. A microchip within the ink cartridge communicates with the microprocessor within the printer. The printer tells the ink cartridge when and how to discharge ink. In addition, the ink cartridge informs the printer how much ink it believes is left based on how many pages it has printed.
When the printer tells the ink cartridge to print, the cartridge releases tiny droplets of ink from its ink chamber through a print head. The ink emerges from a nozzle plate onto the paper from a number of nozzle positions. The microchip determines how much ink to discharge through each nozzle. The print head controlled by the microchip determines how the ink is transferred onto the paper to create different shades and intensities of deposited ink.
This intelligence and complexity within the ink cartridges allow the printers to be relatively inexpensive relative to the cost of replacement ink cartridges.
It is also why inferior ink cartridges that may not perform as required or use more ink than necessary are not recommended over a high-quality ink cartridge.
Standard HP ink cartridges are available either as black ink or coloured ink. The black ink cartridges are straightforward; they contain a single ink chamber full of black ink. The coloured ink cartridges are more complex. They have three separate ink chambers that contain cyan, magenta, and yellow inks. The cartridge microchip releases one or more of these different colours in varying quantities to create the actual colour requested by the printer.
For example, magenta and yellow mixed together without cyan create red. Cyan and yellow mixed together without magenta make green. Magenta and cyan mixed without yellow create blue.
High Yield Ink Cartridges
A high yield ink cartridge has a larger ink chamber than its equivalent standard ink cartridge. Although both contain a microchip and print head, the larger ink chamber stores more ink so that the cartridge can print more pages than a standard cartridge.
High yield cartridges are identified with the letters XL after the model number for HP inkjet cartridges. So, for example, the high yield equivalent to the standard HP 301 ink cartridge is designated HP 301XL.
The two cartridges also have different part numbers to help distinguish them; in this example, part number CH561EE#UUS for the HP 301 black ink cartridge and part number CH563EE#UUS for the HP 301XL black ink cartridge.
Standard Ink vs. High Yield Ink Cartridges
High yield ink cartridges contain more ink than their standard ink cartridge equivalents. This difference offers users savings where a printer is used frequently for producing large volumes of materials. The cost per page is lower, the disruption to print runs to replace empty cartridges is less, and the time spent ordering and replacing cartridges is lower.
- The HP 301 standard black ink cartridge can print ~170 pages at the cost of 9.5p per page.
- The HP 301XL high yield black ink cartridge can print ~430 pages at the cost of 7.7p per page.
- The HP 950 standard black ink cartridge can print ~1000 pages at the cost of 3.2p per page.
- The HP 950XL high yield black ink cartridge can print ~2300 pages at the cost of 2.0p per page.
- The HP 953 standard black ink cartridge can print ~900 pages at the cost of 3.6p per page.
- The HP 953XL high yield black ink cartridge can print ~2000 pages at the cost of 2.5p per page.
* Please note that the basis of price and usage data is information from the HP store as of April 2022. Therefore, this data is subject to change.
So we hope now you understand what XL means on ink cartridges and what the difference is between XL ink and regular ink cartridges.
However, if you use your printer infrequently and only print a few pages, there is a risk of ink drying up within cartridges and becoming unusable. In this case, it makes sense to use standard ink cartridges as the potential volume of wasted ink would be lower. It is important to note that any wastage will depend on the environment where you locate your printer. Higher ambient temperatures can exacerbate issues, while factors such as humidity and exposure to direct sunlight can play a part.
If you are an infrequent printer user, you may find that your ink cartridges do not work correctly after prolonged inactivity due to ink drying. Cleaning the print head of the cartridge will generally solve any problems. HP printers come with a self-cleaning option to save you from having to manually remove the ink cartridges to wipe the print heads with a suitable solvent.
HP Inkjet Printers
If you are looking for a new Inkjet printer and you have decided you want to have the option of choosing between standard and high yield ink cartridges, the following suggestions all meet these requirements.
1. Home Printer
HP DeskJet 3760 Wireless All-in-One Printer
The HP DeskJet 3760 Wireless All-in-One Printer is a superb basic and affordable home printer with an impressive list of capabilities for the world’s smallest all-in-one printer. It can wirelessly print, scan, and copy documents and photographs from Apple, Android, and Windows devices. In addition, it can print pages at speeds of up to 8 pages per minute (ppm) for monochrome and 5.5 ppm for a colour copy.
This printer uses the HP 304 range of print cartridges, the printer requiring one black ink cartridge and one tri-colour cartridge:
- The HP 304 standard black ink cartridge can print ~120 pages at the cost of 10.8p per page.
- The HP 304XL high yield black ink cartridge can print ~300 pages at the cost of 9.3p per page.
- The HP 304 standard tri-colour ink cartridge can print ~100 pages at the cost of 13.0p per page.
- The HP 304XL high yield tri-colour ink cartridge can print ~300 pages at the cost of 10.0p per page.
2. Advanced Home Printer
HP ENVY Inspire 7920e All-in-One HP+ Wireless Colour Printer
The HP ENVY Inspire 7920e All-in-One HP+ Wireless Colour Printer is an excellent, highly capable home all-in-one printer with a 35-page auto-feeder for automatic double-sided printing and copying. It can print pages at speeds of up to 15 ppm for monochrome and 10 ppm for a colour copy.
This printer uses the HP 303 range of print cartridges, the printer requiring one black ink cartridge and one tri-colour cartridge:
- The HP 303 standard black ink cartridge can print ~200 pages at the cost of 8.5p per page.
- The HP 303XL high yield black ink cartridge can print ~600 pages at the cost of 6.0p per page.
- The HP 303 standard tri-colour ink cartridge can print ~165 pages at the cost of 12.7p per page.
- The HP 303XL high yield tri-colour ink cartridge can print ~415 pages at the cost of 9.9p per page.
3. All-In-One Office Printer
HP OfficeJet 6950 Wireless All-in-One Printer
The HP OfficeJet 6950 Wireless All-in-One Printer is an excellent example of an affordable home office all-in-one printer with an impressive list of features for everyday use. HP has designed this printer to produce inexpensive, professional-quality colour materials with reasonable throughput for the typical home office environment. It can print pages at speeds of up to 16 ppm for monochrome and 9 ppm for a colour copy.
This printer uses the HP 903 range of print cartridges, the printer requiring one black ink cartridge, one cyan colour cartridge, one magenta colour cartridge, and one yellow colour cartridge:
- The HP 903 standard black ink cartridge can print ~300 pages at the cost of 5.7p per page.
- The HP 903XL high yield black ink cartridge can print ~825 pages at the cost of 4.8p per page.
- The HP 903 standard colour ink cartridges can print ~315 pages at the cost of 3.5p per page.
- The HP 903XL high yield colour ink cartridges can print ~825 pages at the cost of 2.4p per page.
4. Multi-Function Office Printer
HP OfficeJet Pro 9019 Wireless All-in-One Printer
The HP OfficeJet Pro 9019 Wireless All-in-One Printer is an excellent example of a professional inkjet printer for general business use. It incorporates a 35-page auto-feeder for automatic double-sided printing and copying on various materials from standard A4 paper to envelopes. It can print pages at speeds of up to 22 ppm for monochrome and 18 ppm for a colour copy.
This printer uses the HP 963 range of print cartridges, the printer requiring one black ink cartridge, one cyan colour cartridge, one magenta colour cartridge, and one yellow colour cartridge:
- The HP 963 standard black ink cartridge can print ~1000 pages at the cost of 3.0p per page.
- The HP 963XL high yield black ink cartridge can print ~2000 pages at the cost of 2.3p per page.
- The HP 963 standard colour ink cartridges can print ~700 pages at the cost of 3.1p per page.
- The HP 963XL high yield colour ink cartridges can print ~1600 pages at the cost of 1.9p per page.
Summary
Inkjet cartridges are complex devices in their own right, so choosing the right Inkjet printer is an important decision. However, don’t forget to factor in the availability of standard and high yield ink cartridges into the decision-making process. If you are going to be printing lots of pages regularly, high yield cartridges can offer significant cost savings.
However, standard ink cartridges can be more practical for infrequent low-volume printing. The critical thing is to understand precisely what you will be using your printer for before deciding which is the best option. Knowledge is power when it comes to making the right choices.
About the Author: Stephen Mash is a contributing writer for HP Tech Takes. Stephen is a UK-based freelance technology writer with a background in cybersecurity and risk management.
