HP 712 Cyan Ink Cartridge Review: Conditional Buy (7.7/10)
“Bite me, cyan.” That single line captures the most emotional thread running through feedback on the HP 712 Cyan Ink Cartridge for DesignJet Printers: when everything works, it’s “as expected”—but when the printer decides cyan is mandatory, some users feel blindsided. Verdict: Conditional buy for compatible DesignJet owners who prioritize OEM reliability; 7.7/10.
A recurring pattern emerged across retailer reviews: people aren’t debating whether it prints cyan—they’re reacting to the whole ownership experience. Some buyers treat it as a straightforward consumable and praise that it “works with unit listed,” while others fixate on capacity and interruptions, describing the cartridge as “too small” or venting that the printer “gives no hint at all the ink is running low.”
Digging deeper into user reports, the story isn’t really about color—it’s about predictability. When deliveries arrive late, when a box shows up “missing hp 712 cyan ink,” or when a printer stops mid-deadline because one color hits empty, the cartridge becomes the focal point for broader frustrations with the system.
Quick Verdict
Yes/No/Conditional: Conditional — a safe choice if you need genuine HP 712 cyan for a compatible DesignJet and can tolerate small-capacity cartridges and potential logistics issues.
Before getting into the details, the clearest through-line is that most buyers are satisfied with basic performance, but edge cases (shipping delays, missing items, and “stranded” deadline moments) hit hard because ink is often purchased under time pressure.
For office teams printing plans, maps, or CAD documents, the cartridge is typically judged on whether it installs easily and prints without drama. That’s where positive reviews cluster. For deadline-driven print shops or project teams, a surprise empty warning—or lack of one—can become the defining experience.
| What people agree on | Evidence (source + quote) | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Generally works as expected | A verified buyer on Amazon noted: “everything as expected” (Amazon customer reviews) | Anyone replacing OEM ink fast |
| Compatibility seems straightforward when matched | A verified buyer on Amazon noted: “works with unit listed” (Amazon customer reviews) | DesignJet owners avoiding guesswork |
| Easy installation gets praise | A verified buyer on Staples noted: “works great and not hard to install” (Staples reviews) | Offices with non-technical staff |
| Capacity feels small to some | A verified buyer on Staples noted: “too small” (Staples reviews) | Higher-volume users |
| Shipping/fulfillment can be a pain point | A verified buyer on Amazon noted: “shipping could be a bit faster” (Amazon customer reviews) | Anyone buying for deadlines |
| Rare but severe fulfillment issue | A verified buyer on Amazon noted: “missing hp 712 cyan ink” (Amazon customer reviews) | Buyers relying on one delivery |
Claims vs Reality
HP’s marketing language focuses on reliability and print quality—“outstanding line quality,” “bright and distinguishable colors,” and operations designed to “maximize print head life.” The user feedback included here doesn’t directly confirm or dispute line-accuracy percentages, but it does show what buyers actually notice day-to-day: install ease, whether the cartridge arrives on time, and whether the printing workflow gets interrupted.
One claim in the official materials is that these inks are designed for deadline pressure and dependable operation. Yet the most vivid negative account is explicitly deadline-related. A verified buyer on Staples wrote: “the printer gives no hint at all the ink is running low, so it stranded me in the middle of a massively important deadline job… god forbid you run out of cyan and the whole… machine quits.” (Staples reviews). While that complaint targets printer behavior, it becomes a “cyan cartridge” story because cyan is the trigger.
Another marketing theme is convenience and consistency: simple fit, consistent results “print after print.” That aligns with multiple plainspoken reviews that treat the product as a routine consumable. A verified buyer on Amazon said: “great product… as advertised and on time.” (Amazon customer reviews). A verified buyer on Staples similarly emphasized usability: “works great and not hard to install.” (Staples reviews). The gap is that “consistent” often means print output to HP, while users broaden it to include shipping speed and inventory reliability.
Finally, the product is positioned as a small-capacity 29 ml cartridge. In practice, some buyers accept that as the trade-off for the 712 ecosystem, but others compare it unfavorably to older large-format setups. A verified buyer on Staples wrote: “i wish these were as large as the ink tanks we had for our old designjet 500.” (Staples reviews). The reality check isn’t that HP misstates capacity—it’s that users who came from tank-like systems may feel the small cartridge is a step backward in workflow continuity.
Cross-Platform Consensus
Universally Praised
The least glamorous compliment shows up the most: it works. Many buyers approach the HP 712 cyan as a necessary refill for a DesignJet T-series or Studio plotter, and they judge success by whether the cartridge performs without surprises. A verified buyer on Amazon summarized that mindset bluntly: “everything as expected.” (Amazon customer reviews). For offices printing schedules, plans, and internal CAD markups, “expected” is actually the win—no troubleshooting, no wasted paper, no downtime.
Ease of install is another recurring bright spot, especially for teams where the person replacing ink isn’t the “printer person.” A verified buyer on Staples noted: “works great and not hard to install.” (Staples reviews). For small architecture studios, engineering departments, or facilities teams, that kind of frictionless swap matters because it keeps the plotter available without pulling in IT.
There’s also a low-key satisfaction with basic color output, even when reviewers don’t get poetic about gamut or chroma. A verified buyer on Staples wrote simply: “nice color.” (Staples reviews). For GIS map prints or presentation boards where cyan plays a structural role (water features, highlights, overlays), “nice color” can mean the cyan hue looks correct and readable on plain paper—exactly what many buyers want from OEM ink.
When logistics go well, delivery satisfaction becomes part of the praise, too. A verified buyer on Staples said: “fast shipping!” (Staples reviews). That matters most to the buyer who only realizes cyan is needed when a project is already in motion—exactly the scenario ink purchasers often find themselves in.
Common Complaints
The loudest complaint theme is capacity relative to expectations. The cartridge is officially a 29 ml “small capacity” unit, but users who remember older plotter ecosystems react viscerally to the smaller format. A verified buyer on Staples wrote: “too small… i wish these were as large as the ink tanks we had for our old designjet 500.” (Staples reviews). For higher-volume environments—construction plan rooms, reprographics teams, or any office running frequent full-bleed color—small cartridges can translate into more frequent interruptions and more time spent tracking supplies.
Shipping time is another pain point, and it’s not framed as a minor inconvenience when the purchase is deadline-driven. A verified buyer on Amazon said: “the shipping could be a bit faster, it took close to 3 1/2 weeks for my package to arrive.” (Amazon customer reviews). For users buying ink because the printer is already down—or because a deadline job is queued—multi-week delivery turns a consumable into a workflow bottleneck.
Even more severe is a fulfillment failure where the buyer claims the ink didn’t arrive at all. A verified buyer on Amazon posted: “missing hp 712 cyan ink please send to me.” (Amazon customer reviews). It’s a short complaint, but it’s the kind that spikes anxiety for any buyer relying on a single shipment to keep a DesignJet running.
Finally, the most explosive feedback centers on how the printer behaves when a color cartridge is depleted. One Staples reviewer described being forced into a stop despite “black only printing,” writing that running out of cyan caused the “whole… machine” to quit mid-deadline. (Staples reviews). For project managers and production staff, the key issue is not whether cyan is vibrant—it’s whether the system gives enough warning and flexibility to finish urgent prints.
Divisive Features
The “standard yield” nature of the cartridge is divisive because it depends entirely on user type. For light-to-moderate users printing occasional CAD sets or internal drafts, the small-capacity 29 ml format may feel normal, especially when it’s easy to install and behaves predictably. That’s the world of “works with unit listed” and “everything as expected.” (Amazon customer reviews).
For heavier users, the same “small capacity” becomes a recurring frustration because it increases how often supplies must be managed. The Staples reviewer comparing it to older DesignJet tanks effectively represents that camp: “i wish these were as large as the ink tanks we had.” (Staples reviews). The divide isn’t about quality; it’s about whether your workflow can tolerate frequent cartridge changes and inventory tracking.
Trust & Reliability
Across the provided review excerpts, the strongest trust signals come from ordinary, uneventful success stories: “as advertised and on time” and “works great.” (Amazon customer reviews; Staples reviews). For buyers who insist on genuine OEM supplies to avoid printhead issues, that routine reliability is the core reason to choose HP-branded 712 cyan rather than experimenting with alternatives.
But there are also trust dents tied to fulfillment and continuity. The Amazon complaint “missing hp 712 cyan ink” speaks to a buyer experience where the purchase process itself fails. (Amazon customer reviews). Separately, the deadline meltdown described on Staples points to a reliability anxiety that’s less about the cartridge being defective and more about the system’s dependency on each color being present: “god forbid you run out of cyan and the whole… machine quits.” (Staples reviews). For deadline-heavy environments, “reliable” is judged by the end-to-end chain: warning behavior, availability, delivery speed, and whether printing can continue under constraints.
Alternatives
Only one clear alternative is implied directly by the data: older large-format systems with “ink tanks” rather than small cartridges. The Staples reviewer explicitly contrasted the 712 experience with “our old designjet 500,” wishing these were “as large as the ink tanks we had.” (Staples reviews). For buyers coming from that world, the alternative isn’t necessarily a different current cartridge—it’s a different ownership model with fewer cartridge swaps and less frequent supply intervention.
There’s also mention of an HP 712 “3-pack” cyan option in the provided HP store references (a cyan 3-pack product listing appears in the dataset). While that’s not a competing brand, it functions as a practical alternative for risk reduction: stocking multiple units to avoid being caught empty during a deadline cycle.
Price & Value
Price and value perceptions in the feedback lean heavily on whether the purchase solved a problem quickly. One Amazon reviewer highlighted value positively—“i loved the price of the ink and the fact that they were brand new”—but immediately undercut it with delivery frustration: “shipping could be a bit faster… close to 3 1/2 weeks.” (Amazon customer reviews). The implication is that “good price” isn’t good value if it arrives after the job is done.
Retail listings in the dataset show pricing varies by seller and region (for example, HP store listings and a Staples price reference are included), reinforcing that the buying decision often becomes a trade between cost and certainty. For a deadline-driven team, paying more for faster fulfillment can be rational if it prevents downtime.
The resale/secondary market angle appears in the eBay listing data, which emphasizes condition (“brand-new, unused, unopened”) and expiration dates. That matters for cautious buyers who want to avoid expired supplies or questionable sourcing. The community takeaway from the available data is less about bargain-hunting and more about minimizing risk: buy from a channel that delivers on time, and consider purchasing extras if your workflow can’t tolerate a cyan-triggered stoppage.
FAQ
Q: Does the HP 712 cyan cartridge work reliably with compatible DesignJet printers?
A: For many buyers, yes—basic functionality is frequently described as straightforward. A verified buyer on Amazon noted: “everything as expected,” and another added it “works with unit listed.” (Amazon customer reviews). Staples reviewers also describe it as “not hard to install.” (Staples reviews)
Q: Is the 29 ml capacity enough for regular plotting?
A: It depends on volume. Some users accept the standard-yield format, but higher-volume users complain it’s “too small.” A verified buyer on Staples wrote: “i wish these were as large as the ink tanks we had for our old designjet 500.” (Staples reviews)
Q: Are there shipping or fulfillment issues to watch for?
A: Some buyers report long delivery times and rare missing-item problems. A verified buyer on Amazon said shipping took “close to 3 1/2 weeks,” and another complained: “missing hp 712 cyan ink.” (Amazon customer reviews) Buying from a faster, reliable seller may matter for deadlines.
Q: Can running out of cyan interrupt printing even if you’re printing black-only?
A: One user report says yes, and it was a major frustration during a deadline. A verified buyer on Staples wrote: “of course it was black only printing, but… run out of cyan and the whole… machine quits on me.” (Staples reviews) This appears tied to printer behavior rather than the cartridge alone.
Final Verdict
Buy the HP 712 Cyan Ink Cartridge for DesignJet Printers if you’re a DesignJet Studio/T-series owner who wants genuine OEM ink that “works great” and installs easily, and you can plan ahead for supply replenishment. Avoid if your workflow can’t tolerate small-capacity cartridges or any chance of shipping delays—because one buyer’s “close to 3 1/2 weeks” delivery is another team’s missed deadline. Pro tip from the community: consider stocking extra cyan so you don’t get “stranded… in the middle of a massively important deadline job.” (Amazon customer reviews; Staples reviews)
