Smart Ink Compatible Ink Cartridge Replacement for HP 564 XL

The Verdict

Ink is where printer manufacturers make their real money. A $79 printer that eats $45 cartridges every six weeks is a subscription you never signed up for. That’s the gap Smart Ink targets with their HP 564 XL compatible set — and after digging through 225 Amazon ratings and the technical specs, here’s the honest picture.

What You Actually Get

This is a complete six-cartridge set: black, cyan, magenta, yellow, plus the two photo blacks (photo black and gray) that HP’s photo-centric models require. Each cartridge is rated for the XL yield — roughly 550 pages for the standard black and 440 for the photo black, with color cartridges landing around 330 pages per the product listing. You’re not getting the “standard” yield here; these are the high-capacity units.

The packaging is straightforward retail — each cartridge is individually sealed with a plastic pull-tab that’s actually labeled clearly, which matters more than you’d think. One reviewer noted, “The tab on the black cartridge was a little stiff but the instructions on the box showed exactly how to handle it.” No special tools, no messy priming required — they’re ready to snap in.

Real-World Performance

Here’s where third-party ink usually falls apart: the chipset. HP has historically been aggressive about blocking compatible cartridges with firmware updates. Smart Ink’s chipsets communicate cleanly with HP printers — buyers consistently report no “non-genuine” error messages, and ink level monitoring works accurately. That’s the single biggest technical hurdle for any compatible brand, and they’ve cleared it.

Print quality holds up for everyday office work. Text documents come out crisp — the black cartridge produces sharp edges down to 8-point fonts without feathering. Color documents show accurate skin tones for presentation materials, and photo printing on glossy paper is acceptable for snapshots, though it’s not going to fool anyone into thinking it’s a lab print.

One buyer summarized their experience: “Used these in my HP Photosmart 7520 for six months now. Print quality is identical to the HP brand cartridges I was buying before, at half the price.” That sentiment — “half the price” — runs through the reviews consistently.

Where It Falls Short

The dye-based black ink is the most significant compromise. Pigment-based black (which OEM HP 564 uses) dries instantly and resists smudging on any paper type. This dye-based version needs a few seconds to set, and on glossy or coated paper, it will smear if you handle it immediately. For double-sided printing, give each page a moment before flipping.

The packaging structure is also a minor frustration: colors are only sold as a full set. If you print mostly in black and only occasionally in color, you’ll replace the black cartridge twice before the colors need attention — but you can’t just buy the black. You’re either stocking up on colors you don’t need or buying a second full set.

Who Should Buy This

This set is ideal for home office users and students running HP Photosmart, Envy, or OfficeJet models that take 564 cartridges. If you print 100-200 pages a month of mixed documents and the occasional photo, you’ll cut your ink costs by roughly half compared to OEM.

Skip it if you’re a photography enthusiast printing gallery-quality prints — you’ll want OEM pigment inks for archival stability. Also skip it if you only print in black and white; the full-set requirement makes this a poor fit.

FAQ

Will HP firmware updates block these cartridges? Smart Ink has designed their chipsets to be firmware-resistant, and review data over the past two years shows no widespread blocking issues. That said, HP could theoretically push a breaking update — it’s the inherent risk of any compatible ink.

How does the page yield compare to genuine HP 564 XL? Real-world buyer reports suggest you’ll get 85-95% of the OEM yield. Smart Ink’s ratings are slightly optimistic, but the cost difference makes even a slightly shorter lifespan worthwhile.

Does this work with HP Instant Ink? No. Instant Ink uses chipped cartridges tied to a subscription. You cannot use these with an Instant Ink plan — you’ll need to cancel that subscription first.

The Verdict

Buy it if: You own an HP 564-series printer, print regularly, and want to cut ink costs by roughly half without sacrificing print quality for everyday documents.

Skip it if: You need pigment-based black ink for professional photo work, or you print exclusively in monochrome.

Rating: 4.6/5 — The dye-based black and full-set-only packaging keep it from a perfect score, but for the price, this is the smart money play for most home and small office users.