W2181A — HP 218A Cyan

They are HP's part numbers. "W218" is the HP 218 family, the next digit is the color (0 black, 1 cyan, 2 yellow, 3 magenta) and the last letter is the capacity (A standard, X high yield). So W2182X is high-yield yellow.

Retailers also add their own item numbers (Staples, Best Buy SKU, Walmart item) — the W218… code is the one to match. Four-pack model numbers such as W2180AQ1 or W2180XQ1 identify retailer bundles.

Both fit the same printers and print the same quality; the difference is how much toner is inside. HP states about 1,300 pages for 218A black and about 3,200 for 218X black; for the colors about 1,200 versus 2,500 (ISO/IEC 19798, continuous printing).

Which one is cheaper per page follows from one division: price ÷ stated yield. That depends on today's prices, not on how much you print — our 218A vs 218X page does the math with the prices we checked.

Your volume decides something else: how many cartridges you buy per year, how much cash you tie up at once and how often you swap. Light users may prefer 218A's lower upfront price; heavy users save swaps with 218X.

Yes. Every color slot takes either the A or the X version of that color, so you can mix freely — for example 218X black with 218A cyan, yellow and magenta. HP lists all eight cartridges as replacements for each of the U.S. 3201/3301 models.

Mixing is often the most sensible setup for offices that print mostly black: the black cartridge empties first because it is used on color pages too.

Best Buy, Walmart, Newegg and Amazon run marketplaces: the website is the platform, but another company can be the seller and ship the order. Returns, warranty handling and shipping then follow that seller's terms.

We record the platform, the seller and (where shown) who fulfils the order separately, and show the seller on every row. A marketplace listing of an Original HP cartridge is not the same as buying from HP or from the platform itself — check the seller before you order.

Often, but with a real risk. HP labels the 3201dw and 3301 models "dynamic security enabled": HP says such printers are intended to work only with cartridges that have new or reused HP chips, and that firmware updates can block other cartridges — including ones that work today.

Remanufactured cartridges that reuse an HP chip (Staples, Clover) and compatibles with their own chip (Swift Ink, True Color Toner, INKFUN) are sold for these printers. We have not tested any of them; we report what each seller states and what its return policy is.

HP sells this printer generation in different regions with different cartridge numbers and says the product is regionalized. HP's own table: HP 218 for North America, Australia and New Zealand; HP 219 for the UK, Ireland and Europe only; HP 222 for Latin America, ISE, Greater Asia, India and China only.

For a printer bought in the United States, buy HP 218A or HP 218X.