HP 65XL tri-color · XL

The HP 65XL is the high-yield tri-color cartridge for the same five machines that take the standard 65: the DeskJet 2655, DeskJet 3755 and DeskJet 3772, and the ENVY 5052 and ENVY 5055. It is the same shell in the same slot with more ink in it, so nothing about fitting it changes.

On this family the XL is the obvious buy. It is rated at about 300 pages against 100 for the standard 65 tri-color, and at a list price near $39.99 against $22.99 that works out at 13.3 cents a color page instead of 23.0. The black side behaves the same way, 12.3 cents for the 65XL black against 16.7 for the standard, so there is little sense in pairing one XL with one standard cartridge. Even at the better price this is not cheap printing. If most of what you print is text, fit the XL black and let the color cartridge last as long as it likes.

Every printer that takes this cartridge is on our firmware lockout list. All five shipped with HP Dynamic Security, and an update can leave the machine refusing a non-HP chip it accepted the week before. That hurts more with an XL, because you are holding a more expensive cartridge when it happens. Keep automatic updates switched off, buy from a seller who states current firmware compatibility, and hang on to the receipt until you have seen the cartridge print.

Getting the full 300 pages depends on how the cartridge is used rather than how it is stored. All three colors sit in one shell, so the cartridge is spent as soon as the first of them empties, and a printer that mostly prints photos will run out of one color well ahead of the others. Printing something in color every couple of weeks keeps the nozzles clear and is cheaper than the cleaning cycles you will otherwise run. If a color goes missing, run a nozzle check before assuming the cartridge is empty. If the printer reports a problem with a cartridge you have just fitted, pull it, remove any remaining tape, wipe the copper contacts with a dry lint-free cloth and refit it, then unplug the printer for a minute.