Hewlett-Packard Co confirmed that a small percentage of its black inkjet cartridges sold in recent months produce fewer than the expected number of pages before expiring, and is offering to replace cartridges within three working days after customers call to report it, or users can return defective cartridges to their retailers. The only affected cartridges are black inkjet ones for the DeskJet and DeskWriter 300, 500 and 600 series printers, OfficeJet printer-facsimile-copier devices, facsimile machines and DesignJet 200, 220 and 600 plotters. One in 10 black cartridges with part numbers HP 51626A, HP 51629A and HP 51633M is affected. It says it discovered the problem in routine lab tests in May and took corrective action immediately.
