What HP Printers Use 950 and 951 Ink Cartridges?
Last Updated:Last updated: August 21, 2026.
Quick answer: HP 950 (black) and HP 951 (color) ink cartridges are used by the HP Officejet Pro 8600 family and a handful of closely related models. If you have a newer Officejet Pro (8710, 8720, 9015, 9025, etc.), you actually need HP 952 — not HP 950/951.
Full List of Printers That Use HP 950 / 951
- HP Officejet Pro 8100 ePrinter
- HP Officejet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One
- HP Officejet Pro 8600 Plus e-All-in-One
- HP Officejet Pro 8600 Premium e-All-in-One
- HP Officejet Pro 8610
- HP Officejet Pro 8615
- HP Officejet Pro 8616
- HP Officejet Pro 8620
- HP Officejet Pro 8625
- HP Officejet Pro 8630
- HP Officejet Pro 251dw
- HP Officejet Pro 276dw Multifunction
HP 950 vs. HP 950XL (and HP 951 vs. 951XL)
- HP 950 Black — ~1,000 pages
- HP 950XL Black — ~2,300 pages
- HP 951 (C/M/Y) — ~700 pages each
- HP 951XL (C/M/Y) — ~1,500 pages each
Are 950/951 and 952/953 Interchangeable?
No. HP deliberately changed the chip and cartridge shape between the two families. If you have a newer HP Officejet Pro 8710 / 8720 / 8730 / 8740 / 9015 / 9018 / 9025, you need HP 952XL compatible cartridges instead.
Why Go Compatible?
Genuine HP 950/951XL ink can run over $100 for a full set. Compatible 950XL and 951XL cartridges from Castle Ink's HP ink cartridge collection deliver OEM-equivalent page yields at a fraction of the cost — and every cartridge is covered by a 100% satisfaction warranty.
How to Install HP 950/951 Cartridges
- Power on your Officejet Pro and open the front ink door.
- Wait for the carriage to stop moving, then press down on the old cartridge to release it.
- Pull the cartridge straight out toward you.
- Remove the orange protective cap from the new HP 950/951 cartridge.
- Slide the cartridge into the slot matching its color label until it clicks.
- Close the door — the printer will automatically run an alignment cycle.
Firmware Warning
HP occasionally pushes firmware updates that reject non-OEM cartridges. To avoid this, disable auto-update on your printer from the Web Services or HP Smart settings. See HP's full documentation at the official HP Officejet Pro 8600 support page.
Yields and What They Mean for Cost
| Cartridge | Approx. yield | Equivalent to | Worth buying? |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP 950 Black | ~1,000 pages | — | Only if you barely print |
| HP 950XL Black | ~2,300 pages | 2.3 standard blacks | Yes — the obvious default |
| HP 951 Cyan / Magenta / Yellow | ~700 pages each | — | Light colour use only |
| HP 951XL Cyan / Magenta / Yellow | ~1,500 pages each | 2.1 standard colours | Yes for any regular colour printing |
Note that this is a four-cartridge system: one black plus three separate colours. That is good news day to day — you replace only the colour that runs out, rather than binning a whole tri-colour cartridge because the magenta went — but it does mean a full set is four purchases, so the XL premium pays back faster here than on a two-cartridge printer.
The Setup Cartridge Trap
OfficeJet Pro machines in this family ship with setup cartridges, not full retail ones. They hold noticeably less ink and exist to charge the printhead during first-time installation.
Two things follow from that. Your first replacement will arrive sooner than the printer’s stated yields suggest, which is normal rather than a fault. And a setup cartridge is not worth trying to refill or preserve — once it has done its job, replace it with a standard or XL cartridge.
This Printer Has a Separate Printhead
Worth knowing before you spend money on cartridges: the OfficeJet Pro 8600 family keeps the printhead in the printer rather than in the cartridge. It is a user-replaceable part, which makes this a different situation from a DeskJet where a new cartridge is a new printhead.
Practical consequence: if a colour is missing or banding badly, a new cartridge will not fix it, because the blockage is in the printhead. Run the printer’s cleaning cycle a couple of times first. And if the machine reports an ink system failure — the 0xc19a error family is the one this generation is known for — that is a printhead-level fault, not a cartridge problem.
Is It Still Worth Buying Ink for This Printer?
An honest question for this family, because these machines are now well over a decade old. Our answer is usually yes, with one condition.
If the printer still prints cleanly and has not started reporting ink system or printhead failures, keep it running. It is a genuinely capable office machine, and compatible 950XL/951XL cartridges make it cheap to feed — often cheaper per page than a new budget printer would be.
If it is throwing repeated printhead errors, think twice before buying a full set of four cartridges. At that age, a printhead failure is usually the end of the machine, and you do not want a drawer of ink for a printer you have replaced.
Compatible HP 950XL and 951XL: What to Expect
The ink itself is pigment-based on the black and dye on the colours, the same as the originals, and on plain-paper office documents the output is difficult to tell apart. What changes is the ink-level gauge, which frequently stops reading accurately with third-party cartridges — the printer will warn you about a non-HP cartridge and may show levels as unknown.
That message is a notice, not a fault. The printer keeps working; you simply judge remaining ink by output rather than by the display.
FAQ
What printers use HP 950 and 951 ink?
The OfficeJet Pro 8100, the whole 8600 family (8600, 8600 Plus, 8600 Premium), the 8610, 8615, 8616, 8620, 8625 and 8630, plus the OfficeJet Pro 251dw and 276dw. The full list is above.
Can I use HP 952 in a printer that takes 950/951?
No. HP changed both the cartridge shape and the chip between the two families, so they are not interchangeable in either direction. If you are unsure which family your printer belongs to, the number is printed on the cartridge you are replacing.
Can I use XL cartridges instead of standard?
Yes, in any printer on the list. XL cartridges are the same physical size and drop straight in — they simply hold more ink and cost less per page.
Do I have to replace all four cartridges at once?
No, and that is one of the better things about this system. Replace only the one that has run out. All four do need to be installed for the printer to work at all, though, including for black-and-white printing.
Why does my printer say the cartridge is used or counterfeit?
HP shows that message on any cartridge it does not recognise as its own. It is informational. Acknowledge it and printing continues normally.
Shop HP 950 / 951 Cartridges
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