A Look Inside The HP 564 Magenta Ink Cartridge
It was not easy, but we cracked it open. Air-space abounds.
HP’s version of you can pay me now, or you can pay me now. The 564 cartridges are all the same size and shape, with the exception of the black 564 cartridge (thicker) which is about twice the size of the color and photo black cartridges. There is no physical outward difference between the HP 564 and HP 564XL cartridges, the only difference is the amount of ink contained.
A closer look at cartridge options.
Basic cartridge part number information.
Hewlett Packard (HP) offers two different (but the same) cartridge choices for the 564 cartridge series:
- HP 564 “half-full” cartridge (pictured below)
- HP 564XL “full” cartridge
This cartridge series works in the following Hewlett Packard (HP) printers:
- HP Photosmart B8500 Printer series
- HP Photosmart D5400 Printer series
- HP Photosmart D7500 Printer series
- HP Photosmart Premium Fax All-in-One – C309a
- HP Photosmart C6300 All-in-One series
Inside the HP 564 magenta ink cartridge:
A very “low tech” cartridge from Hewlett Packard with “high tech” refill prevention. This cartridge consists of a molded plastic cartridge, a sponge, and some ink. There is a chip on each one of these cartridges that identifies it by color (so the magenta cannot be used in the yellow slot, and so-on). The chip also reports the ink levels and tells the user when to replace the cartridge.
Once the cartridge is “empty” the chip will give a warning message.
There is no ink level sensor in the cartridge, so the printer makes a guess on the number (and kind) of prints via the chip on the end of each cartridge that keeps track of number of prints, and what kind of prints. The chip on the outside of the cartridge determines when the cartridge must be changed – there is no real ink monitor.
About 30% of the cartridge is just sealed off airspace. So when this cartridge is purchased it is already 30% empty from what it could be filled to.
Notice all the empty space in the HP 564 series ink cartridges from Hewlett Packard (HP) - Can't be sure how full the sponge is either.
Side View:
From the side, and with some of the cartridge removed (dremel) the sponge is clearly visible. There are actually two sponges, one stacked on top of the other.
Chip Swap:
Before and after a successful chip removal.
There is no way to tell how much ink is in these cartridges (due to the sponge) unless HP provides that information. The ink contents cannot be removed with a syringe to be measured (like the Epson spongeless cartridges can). HP does provide an expected pages estimate on their website:
Current Cartridge Options:
Currently, there are no copies of the HP chip, and there are no chip resetters available for the chip on the 564 cartridges from Hewlett Packard (HP). There are compatible cartridges available that come without the chip, and there are also cartridges that come with a “used” chip. So there are some options, but half are no good -
- Do-it-yourself “chipless” cartridge – you move your chip to “blank” cartridge*
- Compatible cartridges – they include a chip and *are* HP original cartridges, but ink monitor may not work.
- Use a continuous inking system (CIS, CISS, or Bulk Ink)
- Continue to use HP brand cartridges at incredibly high prices
- Get rid of the printer and start over (might be a good idea for high volume printing, there are better choices available)
Sponges removed:
Internal parts:
There is no big technology mystery here – gravity, ink, and a sponge. This cartridge is nothing more than an ink holder, or ink tank.
Careful With The Cartridge Tab…
Be very careful handling the cartridge – HP makes the cartridge tab on the 564, 564XL cartridges very delicate and if it breaks off, the cartridge will not sit correctly in the printer. With the cartridge tab broken off, the chip – which resides on the bottom of the cartridge – cannot make contact with the print head and the printer will not recognize the cartridge.
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