What Ink Does the HP OfficeJet Pro 8730 Use?
Last Updated:Quick answer: the HP OfficeJet Pro 8730 uses HP 952 ink. Black comes in three sizes — 952, 952XL and 956XL. Color comes in two — 952 and 952XL. They are all the same cartridge family and mix freely in the printer.
That last sentence is the part most sites get wrong. 956XL is a black cartridge only. There is no 956XL cyan, magenta or yellow, and there is no plain "HP 956". If a seller offers you a 956XL color set, it is not an HP product configuration.
HP OfficeJet Pro 8730 ink at a glance
| Cartridge | Family | Part Number | Approx. Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black (standard) | HP 952 | F6U15AN | ~900 pages |
| Cyan (standard) | HP 952 | L0S49AN | ~630 pages |
| Magenta (standard) | HP 952 | L0S52AN | ~630 pages |
| Yellow (standard) | HP 952 | L0S55AN | ~630 pages |
| Black (high yield) | HP 952XL | F6U19AN | ~2,000 pages |
| Cyan (high yield) | HP 952XL | L0S61AN | ~1,450 pages |
| Magenta (high yield) | HP 952XL | L0S64AN | ~1,450 pages |
| Yellow (high yield) | HP 952XL | L0S67AN | ~1,450 pages |
| Black (extra high yield) | HP 956XL | L0R39AN | ~3,000 pages |
Figures are HP's, taken from HP's US store listings and the 8730 datasheet. HP quotes color yields two ways — 630 pages per cartridge on the store, about 700 composite on the datasheet — because of how the ISO test treats individual versus composite pages. Either way the XL tier more than doubles them.
Which black should you buy?
On a machine rated for up to 2,000 pages a month, the standard 952 black at 900 pages is barely a fortnight of work. The honest ranking:
- 956XL (3,000 pages) if you print a lot of black text. Best cost per page in the family by a clear margin.
- 952XL (2,000 pages) if you want the widest availability — HP has been winding 956XL down, so 952XL is the safer long-term choice.
- 952 (900 pages) only if you print occasionally.
One caution worth knowing: HP has published a notice that 956XL black is discontinued. Retailers still have stock, and ours is a compatible rather than an OEM cartridge, so supply is not an issue here — but if you plan to standardise your office on one part number for years, standardise on 952XL.
Castle Ink recommendation
- HP 952XL 4-Pack (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) — compatible high-yield, $64.95
- HP 956XL Black (L0R39AN) — compatible extra high yield, $26.99
The four-pack plus a spare 956XL black is the combination most 8730 owners actually want, because black runs out first on an office machine by a wide margin.
About the HP OfficeJet Pro 8730
Print, scan, copy and fax at 24 ppm black and 20 ppm color, with automatic duplex printing and a 50-sheet ADF that does single-pass two-sided scanning — a genuinely useful feature at this price and one the cheaper 8710 does not have. 250-sheet input, 4.3-inch touchscreen, Ethernet plus 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. HP put the recommended monthly volume at 250 to 2,000 pages.
It is a 2016-generation machine and long discontinued, but ink and firmware support continue and the whole 7720, 7740, 8210, 8710, 8720, 8730 and 8740 family shares the same cartridges.
Common problems on this model
"Printhead missing, failed or incompatible"
The signature fault of this generation, often with an error code beginning 0xc19a. The printhead is a separate user-serviceable part on this printer, so before assuming the machine is dead: remove the printhead, clean the electrical contacts on both the printhead and the carriage with a lint-free cloth and distilled water, let them dry, reinstall, then hard-reset by unplugging at the wall for 60 seconds while the printer is on. That clears a good share of these.
"Non-HP chip detected" after a firmware update
Widely reported on this generation with third-party 952 cartridges. You can usually dismiss the warning and continue. To stop it recurring, turn off automatic firmware updates in the printer's embedded web server — our guide to firmware updates and third-party ink walks through it. Worth noting HP has not listed the 8700 series in its published Dynamic Security documentation, and HP agreed in 2025 to make firmware updates optional.
Multiple sheets pulled at once
Clean the pickup rollers with a lint-free cloth and distilled water, fan the stack before loading, and do not overfill the tray.
Banding or missing colors
Clean the printhead from the Tools menu on the touchscreen, then align it. Print a nozzle check before running a second cleaning cycle rather than after.
FAQ
What ink does the HP OfficeJet Pro 8730 use?
HP 952 black, cyan, magenta and yellow, or the high-yield 952XL versions. Black is also available as the extra-high-yield 956XL.
Is there a 956XL color cartridge?
No. 956XL is black only. Colors go up to 952XL.
Does the 8730 use HP 962 or 965 ink?
No. Those belong to the newer OfficeJet Pro 9010 and 9020 series — the 9015, 9018 and 9025. Physically different cartridges.
Does it use HP 950 or 951XL?
No. That is the OfficeJet Pro 8600, 8610, 8620 and 8630 generation. This is a very common upgrade-path mistake.
What about HP 953XL or 955XL?
Same cartridges under regional part numbers — 953XL in Europe, 955XL and 959XL in Asia-Pacific. They are region-locked and a US 8730 will reject them, which catches people buying from grey-market sellers.
Do the 8710, 8720 and 8740 use the same ink?
Yes, the whole family runs HP 952. Their hardware differs — the 8710 has a smaller ADF and no duplex scanning — but the cartridges are identical.
Shop HP 952XL now
Pick up the 952XL four-pack and, if you print heavily in black, the 956XL black. Different model? Find yours on our Find Ink by Printer page, or check what your machine really costs to run with the ink cost calculator.
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