HP 962 cyan · standard

The HP 962 cyan is the standard-yield cyan cartridge in HP's 962 family. Two printers in our database use it, the OfficeJet Pro 9015e and the OfficeJet Pro 9025e, which share the same ink family and the same cartridge sizes.

The standard 962 cyan is rated at about 700 pages and lists at $30.99, which is 4.43c a page. The high-yield 962XL cyan prints about 1,600 pages for $49.99, or 3.12c, so the larger size takes about 29 percent off every colour page. Black does the same thing, 4.40c on the standard against 3.20c on the 962XL, so there is no split decision to make here: if the machine gets enough use to finish them, the XLs are the cheaper ink in every slot.

Both printers that take this cartridge are on our firmware lockout list. They shipped as HP+ models with Dynamic Security, so if HP+ was accepted at setup the printer is tied to Original HP ink for good and will refuse a compatible 962. That choice is made once during setup and cannot be undone later. On a printer where HP+ was declined, third-party 962 cartridges can work, but a firmware update can still change what the printer accepts, so keep automatic updates off and buy from a seller who states current firmware compatibility.

If a genuine cartridge is not recognized, treat it as a contacts problem first. Take it out, check the protective tape is fully off, wipe the copper contacts with a dry lint-free cloth, and reseat until it clicks. Unplugging the printer for a minute clears most remaining cartridge problem messages. Cyan missing from prints while the other colors look right is usually a blocked nozzle rather than an empty cartridge, so run a cleaning cycle and a nozzle check before replacing anything.