Are all HP 57 Ink Cartridges Made Equally ?

[Vince]

I have a HP7350 and use it primarily when I want to print color photo
snapshots. Recently, I went shopping for best pricing for photo paper
and photo ink cartridges.

Does anybody know if HP57s contain an equal volume of ink when bundled
with HP paper in HP 57 (Q7926AN) 100-Sheet Photo Value Pack, compared
with non-bundled HP 57 (C6657AN) Tricolor Ink Cartridge ?

I have two old HP57s here; they have different labels affixed to them
but each one indicates 17 mL and C6657A/c6657a.
One label label has a warning about danger if ink is swallowed. I know
that I have once purchased a bundled package of HP57 with 100 ea 4by6
HP paper.

Now I am wondering if the HP57 cartridge that is bundled with 100 each
4by6 photo paper (Q7926AN=yields 100 photos?? ) contains the same
amount of ink as an HP57 that standsalone (C6657AN=yields 450) ?

The wording found at www.staples.com for Item 610340 has me thinking
that the ink supply is going to yield 100 each 4by6 printed photos.

My own conclusion is that I am better off by purchasing separate HP57
and a package of the 4by6 HP photo paper.

Regards,
Vince
Long Island, NY

 

[TJ]

I have a HP7350 and use it primarily when I want to print color photo
snapshots. Recently, I went shopping for best pricing for photo paper
and photo ink cartridges.

Does anybody know if HP57s contain an equal volume of ink when bundled
with HP paper in HP 57 (Q7926AN) 100-Sheet Photo Value Pack, compared
with non-bundled HP 57 (C6657AN) Tricolor Ink Cartridge ?

I have two old HP57s here; they have different labels affixed to them
but each one indicates 17 mL and C6657A/c6657a.
One label label has a warning about danger if ink is swallowed. I know
that I have once purchased a bundled package of HP57 with 100 ea 4by6
HP paper.

Now I am wondering if the HP57 cartridge that is bundled with 100 each
4by6 photo paper (Q7926AN=yields 100 photos?? ) contains the same
amount of ink as an HP57 that standsalone (C6657AN=yields 450) ?

The wording found at www.staples.com for Item 610340 has me thinking
that the ink supply is going to yield 100 each 4by6 printed photos.

My own conclusion is that I am better off by purchasing separate HP57
and a package of the 4by6 HP photo paper.

Regards,
Vince
Long Island, NY

AFAIK, if the cartridge label says there is 17 ml of ink in it, there's
17 ml of ink in it. HP does make a version of the 57 cart that has less
ink, but it has a different number. The 57+ carts, with the Vivera ink
in them, have yet another number.

I suspect the yield of the ink/paper bundle is based on the number of
sheets of paper, not the ink supply. Of course, much depends on the
particular photos and the quality you use for printing, so your mileage
may vary.

TJ

 

[Bob Headrick]

Does anybody know if HP57s contain an equal volume of ink when bundled
with HP paper in HP 57 (Q7926AN) 100-Sheet Photo Value Pack, compared
with non-bundled HP 57 (C6657AN) Tricolor Ink Cartridge ?

No, the ink fill in the Photo Value Pack (PVP) is "tuned" to the size
offered. I have not looked at these lately, but at one time HP had PVP's
for 60, 100 and 200 prints. The 200 page pack includes two 100 print
cartridges. Both the 60 print and the 100 print cartrdiges have different
ink fill than the standard #57.

Now I am wondering if the HP57 cartridge that is bundled with 100 each
4by6 photo paper (Q7926AN=yields 100 photos?? ) contains the same
amount of ink as an HP57 that standsalone (C6657AN=yields 450) ?

The 450 pages you give for the C6657AN is not 4x6 photo's, it is for a 15%
coverage A size page. See
http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/us/en/index.html for information. HP
currently rates the 57 cartridge at 391 15% pages as shown at
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN#N639
I would expect a "standard" 57 cartridge to print about 110 - 120 4x6 pages
but I do not see any documentation that would support that.

The cost per print for the PVP is generally less than that from buying the
paper and ink separately.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Vince]

AFAIK, if the cartridge label says there is 17 ml of ink in it, there's
17 ml of ink in it. HP does make a version of the 57 cart that has less
ink, but it has a different number. The 57+ carts, with the Vivera ink
in them, have yet another number.

I suspect the yield of the ink/paper bundle is based on the number of
sheets of paper, not the ink supply. Of course, much depends on the
particular photos and the quality you use for printing, so your mileage
may vary.

TJ

Hi TJ;

TNX for your reply.

I cannot be certain that either the C6657A empty or the c6657a empty
cartridge came from a PVP purchase. Frankly, when I inspected the
labels yesterday, I was surprised that the 17mL was indicated on both
cartridge labels and that the part numbers were (essentially) the same
(other than upper vs lower case letter characters.

Yes, from my confused thinking I was half convincing myself that the
measure of yield indicated at the staples.com advertisement was based
on a limitation due to the quantity of paper.

TNX again.

 

[Vince]

Hi Bob:

No, the ink fill in the Photo Value Pack (PVP) is "tuned" to the size
offered. I have not looked at these lately, but at one time HP had PVP's
for 60, 100 and 200 prints. The 200 page pack includes two 100 print
cartridges. Both the 60 print and the 100 print cartrdiges have different
ink fill than the standard #57.

I vaguely remember reading about "tuned" ink supply, perhaps here in
the newsgroup or elsewhere.

The 450 pages you give for the C6657AN is not 4x6 photo's, it is for a 15%
coverage A size page.

The 450 page yield rating is what appears in the staples.com
advertisement.

See

http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/us/en/index.html for information. HP
currently rates the 57 cartridge at 391 15% pages as shown at
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN#N639

The "Do" and "Do Not" info in the above URL was very interesting to me
to learn about. I hope that I can remember the guidelines...

e.g.,
Store the COLOR cartridge with nozzles DOWN. and
Store the BLACK cartridge with nozzles UP.

HOW DO I TELL WHICH WAY IS UP or DOWN? Where are the nozzle ports?
A stenciled arrow marking would be helpful for me.
Can you provide a ref for me to read about the anatomy of an HP ink
cartridge ?

I now wonder if placing an ink cartridge that is not in use within an
anti-static bag is adviseable.

I would expect a "standard" 57 cartridge to print about 110 - 120 4x6 pages
but I do not see any documentation that would support that.

The cost per print for the PVP is generally less than that from buying the
paper and ink separately.

I will try to keep that in mind for my next purchase. However, I now
have an order on its way from staples.com. Staples.com has a "Special
Buy" running on the 4by6 photo paper: (Item 569176) Model Q6565A or
(Item 512351) Model Q5431A final price to me before tax and shipping
is $9.99.

I presume that HP photo paper does not have a shelf life expectancy
rating and a Special Buy item purchase is a good thing. .....

I do not know what advantages there might be for perforated tab 4by6
paper vs borderless paper; I think I have used perforated tab paper
w/o a problem in my HP7350. So, I ordered a package of both perforated
tab and borderless. Doing that allowed me to get my total order up
above the $ threshold for free delivery.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

TNX very much for your information.
Regards,
Vince

 

[TJ]

Hi Bob:


I vaguely remember reading about "tuned" ink supply, perhaps here in
the newsgroup or elsewhere.
The 450 page yield rating is what appears in the staples.com
advertisement.

See

The "Do" and "Do Not" info in the above URL was very interesting to me
to learn about. I hope that I can remember the guidelines...

e.g.,
Store the COLOR cartridge with nozzles DOWN. and
Store the BLACK cartridge with nozzles UP.

HOW DO I TELL WHICH WAY IS UP or DOWN? Where are the nozzle ports?
A stenciled arrow marking would be helpful for me.
Can you provide a ref for me to read about the anatomy of an HP ink
cartridge ?

I now wonder if placing an ink cartridge that is not in use within an
anti-static bag is adviseable.

I will try to keep that in mind for my next purchase. However, I now
have an order on its way from staples.com. Staples.com has a "Special
Buy" running on the 4by6 photo paper: (Item 569176) Model Q6565A or
(Item 512351) Model Q5431A final price to me before tax and shipping
is $9.99.

I presume that HP photo paper does not have a shelf life expectancy
rating and a Special Buy item purchase is a good thing. .....

I do not know what advantages there might be for perforated tab 4by6
paper vs borderless paper; I think I have used perforated tab paper
w/o a problem in my HP7350. So, I ordered a package of both perforated
tab and borderless. Doing that allowed me to get my total order up
above the $ threshold for free delivery.

TNX very much for your information.
Regards,
Vince

If Bob and I disagree, pay attention to Bob. He knows his stuff.

TJ

 

[Bob Headrick]

The "Do" and "Do Not" info in the above URL was very interesting to me
to learn about. I hope that I can remember the guidelines...
e.g.,
Store the COLOR cartridge with nozzles DOWN. and
Store the BLACK cartridge with nozzles UP.

HOW DO I TELL WHICH WAY IS UP or DOWN? Where are the nozzle ports?
A stenciled arrow marking would be helpful for me.

On an unopened package the cartridges are aligned so that a package standing
up (as it would be if hanging in a store display) has black nozzles up and
color nozzles down. This warning applies more to the previous generations,
it is less of an issue for the 56/57 series cartridges.

Can you provide a ref for me to read about the anatomy of an HP ink
cartridge ?

Sorry, I have not run across anything simple but correct. For example, at
the http://computer.howstuffworks.com/inkjet-printer2.htm site it shows a
picture that it says is a printhead but is actually the carriage that holds
the ink cartridges. Some issues of the HP Journal were dedicated to inkjet
technology, but they go into much more detail than the average person would
care about. You could see
http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1994-02.pdf or
http://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/pdfs/IssuePDFs/1985-05.pdf.

I now wonder if placing an ink cartridge that is not in use within an
anti-static bag is adviseable.

It is not necessary. If the cartridge is still in its original packaging it
is properly protected. If storing an opened cartridge outside the printer
(for example when replacing a black cartridge with a photo cartridge or vice
versa it is best to use the provided cartridge humidor. Do not put an
untaped cartridge in a container where the nozzles may touch the sides of
the container as this can cause ink to wick out. In the case of a color
cartridge this will likely ruin the cartridge.

I presume that HP photo paper does not have a shelf life expectancy
rating and a Special Buy item purchase is a good thing. .....

There should not be any problem storing photo paper unopened for extended
periods of time. I have some that is several years old. If you are in an
area of high humidity the paper may tend to curl once opened. Some HP
papers include a resealable bag to store partially used packages of photo
paper.

I do not know what advantages there might be for perforated tab 4by6
paper vs borderless paper; I think I have used perforated tab paper
w/o a problem in my HP7350.

The paper with a perforated tab is designed for printers that need some
amount of unprinted space at the bottom of the print for paper handling.
After the print dries the tab can be removed leaving a 4x6 borderless print.
If the printer will handle full borderless printing it is more convenient to
use the untabbed paper, but either would work in that case. Using untabbed
paper in a printer that does not accommodate full borderless printing will
typically leave a border of ~0.5" at the bottom of the print.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Bob Headrick]

Hi Bob:


The 450 page yield rating is what appears in the staples.com
advertisement.

I checked at Staples.com. It says "Yields up to 100 photos" for the PVP #57
and "Yields up to 400 pages" for the 57 cartrdige. The 56 cartrdige is
rated at "up to 450 pages" at Staples.com. All these pages are different.
The photo suite is 10 different 4x6" prints, the color page is a 15%
coverage (5% each of CM and Y) color page and the black page is a 5%
coverage text and graphics page. The ISO standard pages have replaced the
black and color pages. Using the ISO standard pages the 57 cartridge is
rated at 510 pages see
http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/us/en/DJF4100/index.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
for an example. This printer also has a stated yield of 165 4x6" photos,
see http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/us/en/DJF4100/photo.html

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

 

[Dave C.]

I checked at Staples.com. It says "Yields up to 100 photos" for the PVP
#57 and "Yields up to 400 pages" for the 57 cartrdige. The 56 cartrdige
is rated at "up to 450 pages" at Staples.com. All these pages are
different. The photo suite is 10 different 4x6" prints, the color page is
a 15% coverage (5% each of CM and Y) color page and the black page is a 5%
coverage text and graphics page. The ISO standard pages have replaced the
black and color pages. Using the ISO standard pages the 57 cartridge is
rated at 510 pages see
http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/us/en/DJF4100/index.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
for an example. This printer also has a stated yield of 165 4x6" photos,
see http://h10060.www1.hp.com/pageyield/us/en/DJF4100/photo.html

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging

Thank you, Bob, for all that helpful information in your recent posts.

Dave C.