CF500X black · XL

CF500X is the high yield black in the 202X set, fitting the Color LaserJet Pro M254dw and the MFP M281fdw. Same shell as the CF500A, more toner in it.

The arithmetic: 3200 rated pages for $130.00 is 4.06c a page against 5.36c on the standard cartridge, so roughly 24 percent comes off the cost of every black page for $55.00 more up front and more than twice the interval between changes. Of the eight cartridges in this family it is the one whose X version most clearly earns its price, which is useful to know before anyone sells you a full high yield set.

Colour lasers get bought for colour and then spend most of their life printing black text, and that is the usage this cartridge suits. If the printer is doing invoices, letters and the occasional chart, the black is what you will be replacing, and the colours can stay on the standard size until they run out.

The firmware position applies here as it does across the family. HP's dynamic security notice for the M254dw means compatible toner that works today can be refused after an update the printer installs on its own. A remanufactured CF500X built on a reused original HP chip is the safer third party route by the wording of HP's own notice. If a fresh cartridge prints faint immediately, pull it, tip it slowly from side to side and reseat it before assuming the cartridge is bad, because toner settles hard during shipping.