Walmart's own website is filled with numerous negative reviews on these "Great Value" cartridges, people saying multiple error messages and the cartridges don't work properly etc. This may be in-part due to the fact that HP has a history of releasing firmware/driver updates that block the use of non-OEM ink cartridges. The good news is that HP Instant Ink is fast, cheap and allows you to save significantly vs. buying ink at retail: 50 pages/month plan currently runs $2.99/month or $36/year which is very close to the cost of a single set of replacement ink cartridges. For this you get 50 pages per month, and up to 50 unused pages rollover to subsequent months. Extra pages cost only pennies per page. New ink cartridges come in the mail, you return your old ones in the same box for recycling - postage paid. Any replacement cartridges that you might need while enrolled are fully covered. No worries about wasting ink on purge/cleaning cycles, etc - you ONLY pay for actual printed pages. Your printer automatically communicates with HP and you receive replacement cartridges before you run out. All you pay is a flat monthly price based on the number of pages you print, regardless of how many cartridges you need. http://www8.hp.com/us/en/instant-ink/overview.html More on reddit.com

Translation: There's perfectly good ink in this cartridge, but we won't let you use it. EDIT: The corporate suits would alter the above to read "You are not licensed to use it." The problem here is that when I buy something, it is mine to do with as I wish, with reasonable restrictions, for example, not using a baseball bat to bash in someone else's windows. But whether I want to use my shiny new baseball bat to play baseball, or to go out in my backyard and destroy my own HP printer, it is purely my choice. More on reddit.com

If just the box is opened I take them back but if the foil is opened I dont because really anyone can put an old cartridge in there More on reddit.com

Because that is how they really make their money. Selling printers at a slim profit margin, or even a loss, to then charge even more than the printer itself just in ink. They justify it by claiming they have magical extra rich qualities but also insist most of the cost is from R&D. It's the same with Epson and other manufacturers. And most of them have also sued third party manufacturers and pursued aggressive takedowns of resellers online (despite supreme court rulings allowing third party sales) just to retain monopoly. This is why you also see them push out stealth firmware updates to brick third party ink even for printers that previously supported it. Then they take it even further by effectively putting time-expiration dates on cartridges or gradually diminishing the ink inside so you have to more frequently order more. And if you run out of "cyan" or even "light cyan" sub-ink then you can't print at all! Other than the 'tank' varieties and no-cartridge mods, I would never recommend cartridge ink printers anymore. I have used a $60 monochrome Brother laser printer from Walmart for more than a decade and a $15 toner cartridge lasts 4,000 prints. More on reddit.com