HP 138A Black Toner Cartridge Review – Reliable Print Quality?

Quick Verdict

The HP 138A Black Toner Cartridge is the genuine OEM replacement for the LaserJet Pro 3001 and MFP 3101 series. At 1,500 pages per cartridge, it handles average small-office workloads without complaint. If you own one of the four compatible HP models, this is the cartridge HP designed it to use — and in my experience, that engineering alignment shows in day-to-day reliability. Score: 4.5 out of 5.

What Is the HP 138A Black Toner Cartridge?

The HP 138A (part number W1380A) is a black toner cartridge built exclusively for HP LaserJet Pro 3001dw, LaserJet Pro 3001dwe, LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw and LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdwe printers. It is not a universal cartridge — it shares no chemistry or form factor with older HP 26A, 30A or 58A cartridges you might have lying around from previous printers. HP ships the W1380A in sealed, tamper-evident packaging, and the cartridge itself carries a tamper-resistant authentication chip that communicates with the printer's firmware.

In practical terms, this means the printer will only accept the cartridge if the chip passes HP's validation check. That sounds restrictive, and it is — but it's also the reason genuine HP toner produces predictable, consistent output. The chip isn't just DRM; it also tracks page count and alerts you when the cartridge approaches end-of-life, which I found genuinely useful during my first few weeks with the printer.

Key Features

• Genuine HP toner formulation engineered for HP LaserJet Pro 3001 and MFP 3101 series
• Approximate page yield of 1,500 pages (ISO/IEC 19752 standard)
• Tamper-resistant authentication chip with firmware validation
• Sealed, tamper-evident packaging preventing toner leaks in transit
• HP security features help protect printer from malicious code
• Compatible with four specific HP LaserJet Pro models
• Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) quality and warranty support

Hands-On Review

I installed the HP 138A in a LaserJet Pro 3001dw on a Wednesday afternoon — the kind of task you knock out between meetings when a client report is due the next morning. The process is painless: open the front door, release the latch, pull out the old cartridge, peel the tape off the new one, slide it in, close the door. From unboxing to first print was under three minutes. No fiddling, no error messages, no force required.

Print quality on the LaserJet Pro 3001dw was exactly what I'd expect from HP's genuine supplies. Black text came out sharp and dense at 600 dpi — not photographic quality, obviously, but crisp enough for contracts, invoices and client-facing documents. By the end of the week, I'd pushed roughly 340 pages through it (mixed documents, a handful of graphics-heavy reports and a short test batch of photos on plain paper). No streaking, no fading, no light print even as the page counter ticked upward. The printer's status display tracked toner percentage in real 10-percent increments, which I appreciated over guessing.

One thing nobody mentions in the listings: the chip authentication works both ways. After about 320 pages, the printer flagged the cartridge as "low toner" even though output still looked solid. HP sets that threshold conservatively to ensure you don't run dry mid-job, but it can feel premature if you're printing lighter documents. I kept printing — the cartridge clearly had life left — but the warning stays on the display until you replace it.

What surprised me was how quietly the cartridge runs. The LaserJet Pro 3001dw is already a relatively quiet printer, but the toner delivery felt smooth throughout. No visible dust, no clumping, no odours from the fuser. After two months of light-to-moderate use, the HP 138A is still going strong, which puts it comfortably on track for the 1,500-page rated yield.

Who Should Buy It?

Buy it if you own an HP LaserJet Pro 3001dw, 3001dwe, MFP 3101fdw or 3101fdwe and want the peace of mind that comes with genuine HP supplies. OEM cartridges carry HP's warranty support for the printer itself, which third-party compatibles typically void.

Buy it if you print client-facing documents where consistent text density matters. The HP 138A won't give you the occasional light-print page that cheaper toners sometimes do.

Buy it if printer security is a concern in your office environment. The tamper-resistant chip and firmware validation add a layer of protection that compatible cartridges simply cannot replicate.

Skip it if your printer is not on the compatibility list. The HP 138A physically will not fit any other model — check your printer's manual before ordering.

Skip it if you print 2,000+ pages per month and cost-per-page is your primary metric. At that volume, third-party toners will save you meaningful money, even accounting for the slightly lower page yield per cartridge.

Alternatives Worth Considering

Third-party compatible toner cartridges (W1380A): Several manufacturers sell compatible cartridges using the same form factor as the HP 138A, typically at 40-60% lower cost per page. They work in the same printers and may deliver comparable print quality — but they don't carry HP's warranty protection and cannot use HP's firmware validation features. Worth considering if your office prioritises cost over OEM support.

HP Neverstop 144A Toner Reload Kit: If you own a different HP LaserJet model (not the 3001 or MFP 3101 series), HP offers a reload kit for its Neverstop line that lets you refill toner without replacing the drum. This is a different product line entirely, but it is worth knowing about if you want a lower-cost, refillable HP solution for compatible printers.

FAQ

Final Verdict

The HP 138A Black Toner Cartridge (W1380A) is a dependable, well-engineered OEM supply that does exactly what HP promises. The 1,500-page yield, tamper-resistant chip and sealed packaging reflect genuine HP quality — and in everyday use, that translates to sharp output and minimal fuss. Compatible alternatives exist and will save you money upfront, but they cannot match HP's integration with these specific printer models. If you own a LaserJet Pro 3001 or MFP 3101 series printer, this is the cartridge it was built for.