HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge Review: Conditional Buy (8/10)
“Ran out after 19 days” is the kind of line that keeps popping up—even while HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge is repeatedly praised as “it lasts a long time.” The verdict from cross-platform feedback lands as a conditional buy: strong print quality and easy installation for many, but reliability and cost complaints don’t disappear. Score: 8.0/10 (Trustpilot/ReviewIndex aggregate).
Quick Verdict
For HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge buyers, the consensus is Conditional: yes if you want consistent OEM output and fewer “error message” headaches than refills; no if you’re chasing the cheapest cost-per-page or you’ve been burned by short-lived cartridges before.
| Decision Signal | What People Liked | What People Disliked | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Print quality | “laser-quality text” expectations met for many | Some report “faded”/quality issues (often tied to specific bad units) | HP store, Best Buy |
| Longevity | “lasts a long time” and “XL… lasts far longer” | “ran out after 19 days,” “has not lasted a month” | Best Buy, Trustpilot/ReviewIndex |
| Ease of use | “easy to install” / “fits… slot” | Occasional troubleshooting loops and frustration | Best Buy |
| Value | Sales/clearance can feel like a steal | “a bit pricy,” “wish it was cheaper” | Best Buy, Trustpilot/ReviewIndex |
| Safer than refills | Fewer “error message” complaints than refills | Still not immune to defects | Best Buy, Trustpilot/ReviewIndex |
Claims vs Reality
HP and many retailers position HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge as a high-yield, reliable choice—often framed around “up to 600 pages” and everyday dependability. Digging deeper into user reports, the biggest gap isn’t whether it prints black ink well (many say it does), but whether a given cartridge delivers anything close to the expected lifespan for their specific print habits.
Claim #1: High yield (“up to 600 pages”) means fewer replacements.
The official spec centers on a ~600-page yield (5% coverage). That promise aligns with plenty of buyer sentiment about longevity. A Best Buy reviewer named sunshine said: “this ink lasts a long time,” describing use cases like “pictures, newsletters, and log sheets.” Another Best Buy reviewer, movie freak 01, described a heavy-print school moment where the XL solved a real problem: “The regular cartridge ran out so fast… this time I purchased the xl size and was able to print out all the pages I needed with plenty of ink left over.”
But the same ecosystem includes sharp contradictions. The ReviewIndex/Trustpilot analysis highlights reliability as a pain point, including lines like “ran out after 19 days” and “it has not lasted a month since i installed.” While officially rated around 600 pages, multiple users describe lifespans that feel dramatically shorter than expected—suggesting either defects, mismatched expectations around coverage, or inconsistent cartridge performance.
Claim #2: Reliability and consistency reduce hassles versus refills/recycled options.
A recurring pattern emerged: people who had problems with refills often retreat back to OEM. Best Buy reviewer joey explicitly contrasted the experience: “some of the refills would give an error message… we just started to use the genuine products… it prints when i need it.” The ReviewIndex/Trustpilot excerpts echo the same storyline: “i tried inexpensive, recycled ink, but it printed very spotty… had to go back to the ‘tried and true’ hp.”
Yet even among OEM buyers, the “reliability” story isn’t universal. Best Buy reviewer raduz posted a 1-star complaint describing “faded color” symptoms and a long troubleshooting odyssey—then frustration with accountability: “no one takes responsibility… it was more than $100 in ink and a new printer.” The pain here is less about marketing promises and more about the lived experience when a cartridge batch goes wrong.
Cross-Platform Consensus
Universally Praised
One theme comes through cleanly: when HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge behaves normally, people treat it like the low-drama option—click in, print, move on. That matters most for home-office users and students who can’t afford a last-minute printer crisis. Best Buy reviewer jacoby emphasized the low-friction setup: “easy to install and it lasts as long as it said it would.” Another Best Buy reviewer, joco 2599, focused on fit and compatibility: “The cartridge fits in any hp60 ink cartridge slot…” and framed it as a practical way to “save some money in the long run.”
Longevity is the other big “why people buy XL” argument. For frequent black-text printing—classwork packets, forms, newsletters—users repeatedly frame XL as fewer interruptions. Best Buy reviewer mert said it plainly: “the xl ink… lasts far longer… without having to replace it so often.” And sunshine’s usage story—“pictures, newsletters, and log sheets”—underscores a real-world pattern: people lean on it for varied household printing without constant swaps.
Value often shows up not as a low MSRP, but as a good buy when discounted. Best Buy reviewer tex iguana noted a shopping tactic: “great ‘bundle’ deals offered… substantial discount on multiple cartridges.” Another reviewer, the cay, framed value through fast delivery and rewards: “comparable price… plus i get reward points and shipping was free. delivery was super quick.” For deal-driven shoppers, the cartridge seems to “make sense” when purchased during promos rather than at full price.
After that, there’s also a “trust the original” mindset that appears across sources. Best Buy reviewer paul ct wrote: “oem is the best… these still work the best,” while the ReviewIndex/Trustpilot snippets repeatedly echo “oem always best” and “works as expected.” That story tends to resonate with users who previously dealt with remanufactured cartridges or firmware-related recognition issues.
- Most-cited positives: “easy to install,” “fits,” “lasts a long time,” strong text quality (Best Buy)
- Best deal pattern: promos/bundles/rewards make OEM feel worth it (Best Buy, ReviewIndex/Trustpilot)
Common Complaints
The sharpest complaints concentrate around a single fear: you pay OEM prices and still get a cartridge that behaves like a dud. That’s the nightmare scenario for anyone printing time-sensitive documents—tickets, school assignments, or work forms—because the “fix” is usually “buy another cartridge.”
The ReviewIndex/Trustpilot reliability snippets spotlight this repeatedly, including: “i just tried to print for the 4th or 5th time since receiving this and it still doesn't work,” “barely used it,” and “ran out after 19 days.” These aren’t nuanced gripes; they read like straight-up disappointment when the cartridge doesn’t deliver expected life.
Best Buy’s negative story adds another layer: customer service and blame. Reviewer raduz described “faded color is the symptom” and claimed the issue persisted across attempted fixes until buying new cartridges, then concluded: “My problem is with customer service… no one takes responsibility.” Even if the exact root cause differs (printer, cartridges, or both), that experience reflects the frustration users feel when troubleshooting consumes time and money.
Price is the slower-burn complaint. On ReviewIndex/Trustpilot, one quote captures the contradiction: “great ink wish it was cheaper,” while another hints at downshifting: “i would get the regular size next time and save the money.” This is the tension: buyers like the output and ease, but not always the cost-per-page if they print lightly.
- Most-cited negatives: premature empty/defects, doesn’t work out of box, price sting (ReviewIndex/Trustpilot, Best Buy)
- Most painful scenario: time-sensitive printing when the cartridge fails (Best Buy, ReviewIndex/Trustpilot)
Divisive Features
The XL value proposition itself is divisive depending on print volume. The inkdaddy deep-dive frames the “600 pages” estimate as “almost always overly exaggerated” and explicitly calls manufacturer estimates “on the ‘high side’,” reminding readers the yield assumes “5% coverage.” That perspective tends to resonate with heavier printers who see real-world output vary widely with content type.
Meanwhile, many retail reviewers still treat XL as the clear choice. Best Buy reviewer navy man said: “it last a lot longer than the standard cartridge,” and stehen called it “a good value for an xl sized cartridge” because it “delivers many more pages.” The split isn’t about whether XL contains more ink; it’s about whether the extra cost pays off for the way someone prints—and whether they get a good unit.
Trust & Reliability
Digging deeper into Trustpilot-style signals via ReviewIndex, the reliability category leans negative relative to others: the analysis shows product reliability mentions skewing unfavorable (with examples like “it still doesn't work” and “has not lasted a month”). That pattern fuels the core consumer worry: not counterfeits per se, but inconsistent outcomes—some cartridges “work as expected,” others feel defective.
From the community side, inkdaddy’s teardown-style commentary introduces a different kind of trust conversation: skepticism toward page-yield marketing and the reminder that “real world use demands that you cut that page estimate number by 40% easy.” It’s not a “scam” accusation as much as a warning that yield claims and real-world printing patterns don’t always match.
Alternatives
Only a few concrete alternatives show up in the provided data, and they fall into two camps: original HP versus remanufactured/compatible bundles.
If you’re deciding between HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge OEM and remanufactured options, user narratives suggest the trade is consistency versus savings. ReviewIndex/Trustpilot includes the line: “i tried inexpensive, recycled ink, but it printed very spotty… had to go back to the ‘tried and true’ hp.” Best Buy reviewer joey echoed similar reasoning after refill trouble: “some of the refills would give an error message…” and ultimately preferred genuine.
On the remanufactured side, Staples’ remanufactured HP 60XL replacement reviews swing hard. A positive reviewer said: “my hp printer recognized it… didn’t have any issues and the price was half the cost of new.” But the negative experiences are severe and practical: one reviewer complained it was “empty within 2 weeks,” and another wrote: “it leaked ink all over the pages.” If you print anything where clarity matters—like barcodes or official forms—those failure modes are costly.
Price & Value
Pricing looks like a story of timing and channel. Best Buy’s listing shows a clearance moment at “$12.99,” which several reviewers implicitly treat as the sweet spot when paired with “bundle” discounts or rewards. In that context, OEM buyers frame value as fewer headaches and fewer replacements—especially for higher-volume home printing.
At the same time, ReviewIndex/Trustpilot excerpts repeatedly mention price tension: “a bit pricy,” “best price i found,” and “great ink wish it was cheaper.” The value equation seems to hinge on whether you catch a deal and how sensitive you are to the risk of defects. If you’re a light printer, the temptation to “save the money” with standard capacity shows up directly in: “i would get the regular size next time and save the money.”
Resale/market pricing signals also exist indirectly through eBay listings for HP 60XL, where a wide spread appears (including “expired” stock and open-box lots). While that’s not user satisfaction feedback, it does signal a buying tip: shoppers often hunt for bargains—but the ecosystem includes older/expired inventory, which can complicate reliability expectations.
- Best “value” strategy: buy OEM during promos/clearance (Best Buy)
- Cheapest path risk: inconsistent performance in remanufactured options (Staples, ReviewIndex/Trustpilot)
FAQ
Q: How many pages does the HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge print?
A: HP rates HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge at about “up to 600 pages” at 5% coverage. Community commentary suggests those estimates can be “on the ‘high side’,” and ReviewIndex/Trustpilot excerpts include short-lifespan stories like “ran out after 19 days.”
Q: Is OEM HP 60XL better than refills or recycled cartridges?
A: Many buyers think so when reliability matters. Best Buy reviewer joey said refills “would give an error message,” and they switched to genuine because “it prints when i need it.” ReviewIndex/Trustpilot also includes: “recycled ink… printed very spotty… back to the ‘tried and true’ hp.”
Q: Is the HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge easy to install?
A: Most retail feedback describes it as straightforward. Best Buy reviewer jacoby called it “easy to install,” and another reviewer noted it “fits in any hp60 ink cartridge slot.” Complaints tend to focus more on rare bad units than installation difficulty.
Q: Why do some people say it doesn’t last long?
A: Two explanations appear in feedback: coverage assumptions and potential defects. Inkdaddy calls page-yield estimates “overly exaggerated” and based on 5% coverage, while ReviewIndex/Trustpilot excerpts include cases like “has not lasted a month” and “ran out after 19 days.”
Q: What’s the best way to get a good price on HP 60XL?
A: Buyers often point to promotions. Best Buy reviewer tex iguana mentioned “bundle” deals with “substantial discount,” and the Best Buy listing shows clearance pricing. ReviewIndex/Trustpilot price comments include “best price i found,” suggesting comparison shopping is common.
Final Verdict
Buy HP 60XL Black Ink Cartridge if you’re a frequent printer who wants OEM consistency and fewer “error message” surprises—especially when you can catch a clearance or bundle deal. Avoid if you’re extremely price-sensitive or you’ve had repeated short-life/defective-cartridge experiences and can’t risk downtime. Pro tip from the community: as inkdaddy put it, manufacturer yield estimates can be “on the ‘high side’,” so match expectations to your real coverage and print habits.
