HP 952 black · standard

The HP 952 black is the standard yield black for six HP OfficeJet Pro machines: the 7740 from 2017, and the 8210, 8710, 8720, 8730 and 8740 from 2016. This is one of HP's largest fitments, and one of its most locked down.

Cost per page is where the 952 looks better than most home cartridges. It is rated at about 1000 pages and lists near $28, about 2.80 cents a page. Stepping up to the 952XL black buys about 2000 pages for around $45, about 2.25 cents, so the saving per page is modest and the real benefit is half as many cartridge changes. The 952XL colours are rated at about 1600 pages for around $38, about 2.38 cents each, which puts colour and black within a few tenths of a cent of each other on this range.

The firmware position is the reason to read this page before buying a compatible. All six printers are on our lockout list, and this generation is the one at the centre of HP's Dynamic Security rollout, where printer updates began refusing cartridges with non-HP chips that had been working for months. A compatible 952 that arrives working is not evidence that it will keep working. If you are going to run third-party ink in one of these, buy from a seller who states current firmware compatibility, turn automatic printer updates off in the embedded web server, and keep the receipt. Our guide on declining HP firmware updates covers the settings, and the tracker page lists where each model stands.

When a genuine 952 is refused, the fix is nearly always mechanical. Take the cartridge out, pull off any remaining tape, wipe the copper contacts with a dry lint-free cloth, and reseat it until it clicks. A refusal that appears the moment a compatible goes in is a different animal and points at the firmware rather than the contacts, and swapping in a second compatible from the same batch will produce the same message.