Your Ultimate Guide to Genuine HP Toner (Everything You Need To Know!)

Posted by Rob Errera on 02/20/2023

Welcome to the Ultimate Guide To HP Toners!

Toner is the fuel your printer laser printer needs to keep on chugging. Toner is a dry powder attracted to an electrostatic image on a paper, then heated and fused to the paper surface. This is how toner is used in laser printing.

The Importance of Using HP Toners for Your HP Printer

To get the best out of your HP printer, it’s important to use original HP toners. HP toners are specifically formulated to work with HP printers and guarantee the following:

Text and images that don’t fade over time
Life-like color reproduction
Accurate page yields
Reliable performance
Recyclable printer cartridges

➜ Read about Grrr! HP Printer Owners Outraged By Update That Blocks Non-HP Cartridges

Overview of HP Toners

Below is an overview of various types of HP toners available on the market. This section will examine how HP groups, classifies, and numbers its toner cartridges.

Understanding How HP Names Toner Cartridges

HP uses a number followed by a letter when naming their toner cartridges. HP designates the number through an internal naming process related to specific printer models.

The letter designates the toner yield of that cartridge. In general, cartridges come in standard-yield, high-yield, and super-high-yield capacities.

The price for each cartridge goes up accordingly, but you can print more pages and bring your overall cost per printed page down significantly with higher-yield cartridges.

HP ink and toner cartridges come in three different size capacities

A - standard yield
X - high-yield
Y - extra-high yield

HP Standard vs. High-Yield Toner Cartridges

As mentioned in the previous section, HP toner cartridges come in three formats: standard, high-yield, and, for certain cartridges, extra-high-yield.

These three cartridges look the same, but the high-yield and extra-high-yield cartridges contain much more toner powder inside and will last longer before needing to be replaced.

For example, let’s look at the HP 58A and HP 58X toner cartridges.

The HP 58A black toner cartridge (CF258A) is a standard yield cartridge that will print approximately 3,000 pages before running empty. The higher capacity HP 58X high-yield black toner cartridge (CF258X) yields about 10,000 pages.

Both cartridges can be used interchangeably in the following models of HP LaserJet Pro printers.

HP 58A and HP 58X Label

The HP 58A toner cartridge is standard yield (3,000 pages), while the HP 58X is high-yield (10,000 pages). Both cartridges will work in HP M404 and MFP M428 laser printers. HP commonly uses “A” to designate standard yield and “X” to denote high-yield cartridges.

➜ Learn more about Standard vs. High-Yield Toner Cartridges

Black HP Toner Cartridges

Black HP toner is the lifeblood of an HP monochrome laser printer. Monochrome printers are perfect for high-volume printing in schools and workplaces around the globe.

If you own a monochrome or “black-and-white” HP laser printer, you will need genuine black HP toner cartridges to get the best performance from your printer.

HP manufactures two types of black toner:

polymerized toner
ground toner

Polymerized toner particles are created in a lab and have a wax core coated with low-melt plastic polymer. Ground toner is made by crushing and grinding larger blocks of toner into powder.

HP applied a finishing process to its ground toner that makes them nearly as uniform and round as its man-made polymerized toner particles. Getting all the toner particles a uniform size and shape means HP can fit more toner into its cartridges which results in consistently precise prints.

Color HP Toner Cartridges

HP offers a variety of color laser printers and multi-function machines that use HP color laserjet toner cartridges. HP color toners are renowned for their vivid hues and durability: these color laserjet images just don’t fade!

HP 504A Label

The HP 504A is a standard-yield magenta color toner cartridge for HP CP3525dn and CM3530 MFP laser printers.

HP Pagewide Cartridges

HP developed the Pagewide printer series for users who demand high-quality photo and image reproduction.

Regular inkjet printers move the printheads across the page to print. But the printheads in Pagewide printers are fixed on an immobile bar that runs the width of the page (hence the name, “page-wide.”)

The page is moved across over 25,000 fixed ink nozzles to produce amazingly vivid prints.

Types of HP Toners

Stick with OEM HP toner cartridges.

Compatible and generic toners manufactured by third-party manufacturers do not work as well as genuine HP toners. These compatible toner cartridges do not have the manufacturing oversight of original HP toners and are often faulty and fail to deliver the promised paged yield.

The same goes for remanufactured toners, which are empty HP toner cartridges that have been refilled and refurbished by third-party manufacturers. Remanufactured toners also have a high rate of failure.

Understanding the difference between compatible, remanufactured, and genuine toner cartridges will help you get the best performance from your HP printer.

HP toner cartridges come in various models that work with each specific HP printer model.

All HP toner cartridges will have a similar but vary in cartridge design. These are some of the HP toners you will encounter when searching for toner for your HP LaserJet printer.

HP 70A Label

The HP 70A toner cartridge is compatible with all-in-ones M5025 MFP and M5035 MFP.

Choosing the Right HP Cartridges for Your Printer

You’ll find a lot of different toners available for your printer model, but your best choice will always be OEM HP toners.

Checking Printer Compatibility

It’s important to check the compatibility of any toner cartridge before you purchase it. Double-check your printer model and cartridge number before shopping or placing an order online.

Consider Your Print Needs

It’s also important to consider your printing needs before shopping for HP toner. Are you printing hundreds of flyers for the neighborhood block party? If so, you might want to use a high-yield toner cartridge to lower your cost per page.

If you don’t print that frequently, a standard-yield toner cartridge will cost you less upfront and serve your printing needs just fine.

HP Colorsphere

HP Colorsphere 3 toner is designed for use in HP color laser printers. Colorsphere 3 toner particles have a hard outer shell around a soft center, which allows them to flow more evenly and efficiently.

How to Use and Maintain HP Toners

To ensure the best print quality you should store your toners in a cool, dry place. Toners are vacuum-sealed dry powder, so they should last indefinitely as long as they are properly stored. Check out additional tips for getting your printer's cartridges to last longer here.

How To Install HP Laser Cartridges

To change your HP toner cartridges:

Open the toner drawer
Press the release tabs to remove the empty cartridge
Remove the packing tape on the new HP toner cartridge
Insert the new toner cartridge into the toner drawer until it clicks
Close the toner drawer

Troubleshooting Common HP Toner Issues

Below, we will troubleshoot common problems with laser printers.

HP Toner not sticking to the paper

Pop that toner cartridge out and give it a gentle shake from side to side. The toner may have clumped up inside the cartridge. If this doesn't work, you may need to turn up the heat of your printer's fuser.

Paper Jams

Incorrect paper weight settings between the computer and the printer often cause this common printer issue. Check to ensure the paper weight setting on your printer and computer match.

Paper jams can also be caused by dirt, dust, or worn rollers. Keep that printer clean!

Faded Prints

It might be time to replace your HP toner cartridge. But first, check the paper weight settings on your printer and computer.

Nothing Will Print

Is your printer connected to your computer? Are print jobs being sent to the print queue? Assuming all these things are fine, you may want to reboot your computer and printer to ensure everything is playing nicely together.

Wrong Font Printing

Ensure your printer drivers are up-to-date and your computer and printer are compatible with the chosen font.

Wrinkled Pages and Crooked Images

Your paper is probably misaligned in the paper tray. Check those paper guides and try again.

Low Toner Warning

There may be more life left in that toner cartridge! Take the cartridge out of the printer and give it a gentle shake to loosen any clumped-up toner. Reinstall the cartridge and restart both your computer and printer.

HP Smart App

The HP Smart app is downloadable for smartphones, tablets and desktops. It allows users with an HP account to print, scan, and share photos anywhere, at any time. The app allows you to create one-touch shortcuts to make repetitive print tasks more efficient.

HP Smart app has a feature called Print Anywhere that allows you to send print jobs to remote printers and check the status of print jobs. The HP Smart app also allows you to scan text and images with your phone or tablet camera.

HP Printer Dashboard

HP My Dashboard is a web-based service that connects to your HP printer to monitor supply levels and the status of print jobs. You can also download driver software and troubleshoot printing issues from HP My Dashboard.

How To Recycle HP Toner

HP manufactures more plastic printer cartridges than any other company. As a result, HP created Planet Partners, a comprehensive recycling program available in more than 50 countries worldwide.

HP’s closed-loop recycling process means recycled cartridges are cleaned and refurbished and used to create new HP printer cartridges and products.

The numbers for HP and Planet Partners look pretty good so far

5.5 billion plastic bottles recycled into HP ink cartridges.
962 million ink and toner cartridges recycled by HP and Planet Partners
143 million plastic hangers recycled in HP ink and toner cartridges

There are several ways to recycle your empty HP ink and toner cartridges.

Method 1: Drop-Off Cartridge Recycling

You can drop off your HP ink and toner cartridges, as well as Samsung toner cartridges, at most office superstores, including Staples, Best Buy, Office Depot, and Walmart.

There is usually a cardboard kiosk labeled “empty cartridge recycling” near their printer sales area. Ask the customer service desk if the Cartridge Recycling Center is not visible.

Method 2: Mail-In Recycling

HP provides pre-paid shipping label(s) and box(es) for recycling toner cartridges. When your cartridge is empty, you can simply mail it back to HP for recycling.

Method 3: HP Bulk Recycling Pickup

You can arrange a free pallet pick-up from HP online if you have 1000 or more empty ink cartridges or 76 empty toner cartridges.

Other Information About HP Toners

At Toner Buzz, we love HP LaserJet printers and HP laser toners! We have miles of brand-new laser cartridges for HP printers in our warehouse, and we offer them to you at the lowest price possible.

Toner Buzz is the premier independent retailer (not affiliated with HP) of genuine OEM HP toners.

HP toner cartridges come to you in the original, unopened box and are guaranteed to deliver superior text and image quality. Toner Buzz prices are the lowest you’ll find anywhere on the web and up to 40% off big box stores like Office Depot and Staples!

The Science Behind HP JetIntelligence

HP JetIntelligence is what HP calls the design features of its original toner cartridges. Each genuine HP toner cartridge with JetIntelligence features:

Proprietary HP toner formula
Page maximizer
Print gauge
Auto seal removal
Anti-fraud technology

EcoSmart HP Toner

EcoSmart black is HP's proprietary polymerized toner engineered for high-speed printing that uses 21 % less energy, according to HP. The company says EcoSmart toner melts at a lower fuser temperature which enables energy savings.

Page Maximizer

HP JetIntelligence toner cartridges also feature page maximizer technology. According to HP, page maximizer cartridges use smaller, more durable components to increase efficiency and page yields.

Print Gauge

HP's print gauge technology tracks page counts, gear rotation, and temperature/humidity to help extend cartridge life, while auto-seal removal keeps the toner particles inside the cartridge packed in place until you peel away the protective strip.

Anti-Fraud Technology

JetIntelligence anti-fraud technology will tell you if the cartridge you are using is a genuine HP toner cartridge. In addition, JetIntelligence technology allows printer administrators to register toner cartridges so they will only work with authorized machines. You can also set your printer to only accept genuine HP cartridges.

FAQ

Do HP laser printers come with toner?

Yes, buying a new HP laser printer will come with a starter cartridge to get you up and running. But remember, this starter cartridge will run empty long before a standard or high-yield HP toner cartridge.

How long will the toner last in my HP laser printer?

HP guarantees its toner for two years if kept unsealed in its original packing. But toner is a dry powder sealed in an airtight cartridge, so it should last forever. As long as there is no damage to your HP toner cartridge's gears or other mechanical parts, it should last for years.

Can HP toner cartridges be refilled?

We've seen it done, but we don't recommend it. For starters, it's a messy job that requires disassembling your HP cartridge. Second, doing so will void the warranty on your cartridges and your printer.

Finally, genuine HP toner is specially formulated for use in your specific model of printer and will work better than third-party toner.

CB389A Maintenance Kit

Get another 200,000 pages out of your HP LaserJet with a genuine HP maintenance kit. Each kit includes a new fuser and internal roller. The CB389A maintenance kit pictured above is compatible with the HP LaserJet P4014, P4015, and P4515 printer models.

HP Toners: Summary

Stick with genuine OEM HP toner cartridges
Store your HP toner cartridges in a cool, dry place
Check the compatibility of your printer before buying

There’s a reason nearly every other printer you see is an HP. HP printers dominate 40% of the printers market because they make some of the best. The company has built its reputation on imaging products, and HP LaserJet is a solid workhorse machine.

Toner Buzz has genuine HP toner and will teach you everything you need to know about the glories of genuine OEM HP toners.

Additional Resources

Toner Buzz Exclusive: HP Printer Reviews

Rob Errera

Rob Errera is an award-winning journalist embedded in the world of printers and printing supplies. Rob has nearly two decades of experience writing about cutting edge technology, business trends, and the ever-evolving industry of printing.