What’s the difference between the HP 981A and HP 981X?

When you are looking into getting the HP 981 replacement cartridge, you may have noticed that there are two versions. So, what are the main differences between the HP 981A and HP 981X?

You can find out in this comparison guide between these two page wide cartridges.

Quick Summary

You can print out around 83.33% more pages with the HP 981X High Yield Black Original PageWide Cartridge when compared to the HP 981A Black Original PageWide Cartridge.

The HP 981X High Yield Cyan Original PageWide Cartridge, HP 981X High Yield Magenta Original PageWide Cartridge and HP 981X High Yield Yellow Original PageWide Cartridge can also print out 66.67% more pages than the HP 981A Cyan Original PageWide Cartridge, HP 981A Magenta Original PageWide Cartridge and HP 981A Yellow Original PageWide Cartridge.

So, while the HP 981X cartridges are a little more expensive than the HP 981A, the X versions do last quite a bit longer. As a result, you don’t have to replace the high yield cartridges nearly as often the regular cartridges.

Therefore, we recommend the HP 981X if you are looking for the best value.

HP 981A vs. HP 981X Comparison Charts

You can take a look at Seeking Tech’s comparison tables for the two versions of the HP 981 printer cartridge below.

HP 981A Black vs. HP 981X High Yield Black

HP 981A Cyan vs. HP 981X High Yield Cyan

HP 981A Magenta vs. HP 981X High Yield Magenta

HP 981A Yellow vs. HP 981X High Yield Yellow

Compatible Printers

The HP 981A Original PageWide Cartridge and HP 981X High Yield Original PageWide Cartridge are compatible with the following printers:

• HP PageWide Enterprise Color 556dn (G1W46A#BGJ)
• HP PageWide Enterprise Color 556xh (G1W47A#BGJ)
• HP PageWide Enterprise Color Flow MFP 586z (G1W41A#BGJ)
• HP PageWide Enterprise Color MFP 586dn (G1W39A#BGJ)
• HP PageWide Enterprise Color MFP 586f (G1W40A#BGJ)

Compatible Ink Types

All color variants of both the HP 981A and HP 981X are compatible with the pigment-based ink type.

Ink Drop

The ink drops between the A and X versions of the HP 981 are identical when you compare the same color types.

You can check out the ink drop specs below:

• HP 981A Black Original PageWide Cartridge: 9.06 pl
• HP 981X High Yield Black Original PageWide Cartridge: 9.06 pl

• HP 981A Cyan Original PageWide Cartridge: 8.02 pl
• HP 981X High Yield Cyan Original PageWide Cartridge: 8.02 pl

• HP 981A Magenta Original PageWide Cartridge: 8.02 pl
• HP 981X High Yield Magenta Original PageWide Cartridge: 8.02 pl

• HP 981A Yellow Original PageWide Cartridge: 8.02 pl
• HP 981X High Yield Yellow Original PageWide Cartridge: 8.02 pl

Page Yield

Page yield measures the effectiveness of a HP 981 cartridge in terms of how many pages it can print out before needing a replacement.

According to internal tests done by HP, the HP 981X High Yield Black Original has a maximum yield that is 5,000 pages more than the HP 981A Black Original. This translates to an 83.33% advantage for the X version over the A version.

The HP 981X High Yield Cyan Original is able to print out 4,000 more pages than the HP 981A Cyan Original.

Furthermore, the HP 981X High Yield Magenta Original is also capable printing 4,000 more pages than the HP 981A Magenta Original.

Last but not least, you can print 4,000 more pages with the HP 981X High Yield Yellow Original than the HP 981A Yellow Original.

So, the X versions of the cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges have a 66.67% advantage over the A versions.

All of the aforementioned pagewide cartridges were tested on the HP PageWide Enterprise Color MFP 586dn using the ISO/IEC 24711 methodology.

You can take a look at the page yield specs below:

• HP 981A Black Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 6,000 pages
• HP 981X High Yield Black Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 11,000 pages

• HP 981A Cyan Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 6,000 pages
• HP 981X High Yield Cyan Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 10,000 pages

• HP 981A Magenta Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 6,000 pages
• HP 981X High Yield Magenta Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 10,000 pages

• HP 981A Yellow Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 6,000 pages
• HP 981X High Yield Yellow Original PageWide Cartridge: Around 10,000 pages

Operating Temperature Range

When it comes to temperature, the HP 981A Black Original PageWide Cartridge and HP 981X High Yield Black Original PageWide Cartridge have a recommend range of 41°F to 95°F.

Storage Temperature Range

For non-operation, you can store both the A and X versions of the HP981 within of range of -40°F to 140°F.

Operating Humidity Range

For humidity, the HP 981A and HP 981X have a recommended range of 10% to 90% RH.

Storage Humidity Range

Last but not least, you can store both versions within of humidity range of 0% to 100% RH.

Resources:

• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981a-black-original-pagewide-cartridge
• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981x-high-yield-black-original-pagewide-cartridge
• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981a-cyan-original-pagewide-cartridge
• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981x-high-yield-cyan-original-pagewide-cartridge
• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981a-magenta-original-pagewide-cartridge
• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981x-high-yield-magenta-original-pagewide-cartridge
• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981a-yellow-original-pagewide-cartridge
• https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-981x-high-yield-yellow-original-pagewide-cartridge