i don't print often, maybe 2 pages a month. i get maybe 25 pages from a hp61 cartridge

[Bobbiejohandy]

i don't print much, maybe 2 or 3 pages a month. after about 5 months, the cartridge printer says the cartridge is out of black  ink. i get maybe 25 - 30 pages from each cartridge.   is the cartidge evaporating? is there a way to rejuvenate it? what is the problem?

[sabretooth04]

Please explain exactly what you are printing.  Text, graphics, photos and how much ink you are using per page.

[Bobbiejohandy]

Just a page of text. I don't really see the relevance of your question, I'm only get 30 pages of print from a cartridge. That ends up costing me about 50 cents a page if I have to replace it with a new

[sabretooth04]

Here is a chart to help with Ink Cartridge Page Estimation.  All cartridges are based on a 5% coverage when new.

Note:  A 5% coverage is about 6 single spaced lines of text on a page. No bold, graphics or pictures.  A full color photo would be 100% coverage.

A ‘regular’ page of text would be about 72 lines and give us 30% coverage (more realistic).  Don’t forget the font type and size you use will use more ink too.

Example: 564 Standard Black = 250 pages at 5% coverage.   

Let’s say your average page coverage you estimate is 30%.  So…250/6 = 41.

Therefore the number of pages expected (30% coverage) out of your cartridge would be about 40 pages.

A 564 Standard Color (300 pages) at 100% coverage yields – 300/20 = 15 pages.

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OK, a page of text is about 30-50% usage.   We'll go on the high side as everyone always guesses low.

Using a HP 61 cartridge, is rated at 190 pages, at 5% usage.   So here is your math.

190/10 = 19 pages expected.  At 30% usage 190/6 = 31 pages.

You are getting 25 pages so you are right on track for your number of pages.

[Bobbiejohandy]

thats a lot of good stuff, however,

your response is not close to what is  promoted on HP

re: www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies

so on hp site reference the 61 printer yield it states

"hp 61 yield is 6000 pages. "

are they saying 6000 pages with what? .0001%?

[sabretooth04]

No inkjet cartridge yields 6000 pages, and that is for a Laserjet printer of which cartridges are huge.  Scroll down to see this...

Cartridge Reference Yield Ink Volume

HP 61 Black Ink Cartridge (CH561W)

~190 pages

3.0

HP61... 190 pages only.

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Product Details

• Maximize your page yield - up to 190 pages per cartridge.
• What's in the box: One HP 61 Black ink cartridge (HP part number: CH561WN)
• Save per page when you buy the HP 61XL High Yield Black Ink Cartridge instead of this standard HP ink cartridge

[Bob_Headrick · Accepted solution]

The 6000 page cartridge you were looking at was a Laserjet cartridge:

Cartridge Reference Yield

HP LaserJet (C8061A) Black Print Cartridge 61A

6,000 pages

The inkjet cartridge you have is further down the page:

Cartridge Reference Yield Ink Volume

HP 61 Black Ink Cartridge (CH561W)

~190 pages

3.0

The document here describes how ink is used.  There is some ink used at startup of each print job to keep the nozzles clear.  If you print only a page or two per month the startup servicing ink used will swamp out the amount you are actually putting on the page.

For your printing habits you might look into the HP Instant Ink program.  They have recently introduced a plan for 15 pages per month FREE.  HP supplies the ink cartridges and only charges for usage over the base amount.  See the web page here to determine if your printer is eligible:  https://instantink.hpconnected.com/