Cartridges

TIJ 2.5 cartridge model cross-reference

If the label in your hand reads 2588, 2580, B9F16A or IQ800, this page tells you which of those numbers describe the same object and which only describe a different supplier. TIJ 2.5 and HP45 name one format, and the numbers are not the product.

One format, several hundred numbers

Every cartridge in these tables sits on the same 300-nozzle thermal platform. HP sold the format as the HP45; the trade now calls the same body TIJ 2.5. One printhead, one 42 ml ink chamber and one filter are sealed into a single part that you replace whole.

The numbers multiplied for commercial reasons rather than technical ones. A filler who puts the same body on the market under a house label creates a number, and so does a distributor with a private SKU. The result is a catalogue where a dozen genuinely different inks wear forty different names.

So this page separates the two questions that a model list always mixes: what the format fixes for every cartridge, and what only the ink decides.

What the format fixes, whatever the number says

These twelve values hold for any TIJ 2.5 cartridge, whether the label reads 2588, JS12 or XM-45S. They are properties of the platform, and they come from published HP 51645A data rather than from our own bench.

What the format fixes, whatever the number says
Item	Value on the platform	Note
Print technology	TIJ 2.5 thermal inkjet (HP45 format)	Printhead, ink chamber and filter sealed as one part
Nozzles	300, in a single row	1/300 in nozzle spacing
Native resolution	300 dpi	The platform value
Maximum resolution	up to 600 dpi	Print-mode dependent; 300 × 300 and 300 × 600 are common
Print width	12.7 mm (half-inch) or 25.4 mm (one-inch)	Head width becomes character height
Nominal capacity	42 ml	One fill across the platform
Drop volume	about 29–38 pl	Varies by model and print mode
Fire frequency	12–18 kHz	Varies by ink and drive settings
Drop placement	±0.1 mm	Platform figure
Throw distance	1–2 mm optimum, about 5 mm maximum	Placement degrades with distance
Operating environment	15–35 °C, 35–80% relative humidity, non-condensing	Same for every model
Colour	Decided by the ink	Six colours plus invisible UV in circulation

Four things are missing on purpose: drying time, adhesion, rub resistance and decap. They follow the ink formulation, so they belong to one model’s datasheet rather than to the platform. Our own cartridge publishes drying of typically 1–5 s on non-porous surfaces, and asks you to confirm decap for the ink you choose.

The first decision is width, before any number

12.7 mm · half-inch

Half-inch: one line of data

A date, a batch, a serial or a specification code. Handheld and mini printers are built around this width, and it is the lighter, faster-changing option on a busy line.

Handheld printers at 12.7 mm →

25.4 mm · one-inch

One-inch: multi-line, 2D codes, logos

This body needs a carriage tall enough to take it. Two heads butted together go wider still, which is how a 50 mm block gets printed in one pass.

Handheld printers at 25.4 mm →

Two codes printed with our own cartridges on the same strip of corrugated board: the one-inch mark stacked across several lines in a taller block, the half-inch mark laid out along a single low band — The same board, printed with our own cartridges: one-inch XM-45S-254 above, half-inch XM-45S-127 below. The code is clean and legible, the ink held, and it was dry in milliseconds on this board.

Why the model list looks chaotic

Three things happened at once. Each one added a number without adding a product, and together they are why the list looks chaotic.

01
One platform, many labels

The same body leaves different factories under different numbers. A filler’s own number, a distributor’s number and a customer’s private label can all point at one cartridge, and none of them is wrong.
02
Original, alternate and house numbers are mixed together

On this platform only HP’s own part numbers are original. Most numbers in circulation are alternates: B9F16A, 300S, 2588 and FOL13B all belong to that group. House numbers such as JS10 or JS12 sit on top of them. The tables below keep the three apart.
03
The difference is the ink and the chip, not the number

A number tells you whether the body fits a carriage. It cannot tell you whether the ink will hold on your material. Capacity is fixed at 42 ml across the platform, so what is left to vary is formulation and chip version.

Solvent and oil-based fast-dry numbers

Start here when the print has to hold on coated film, plastic, metal or glass. The numbers narrow the shortlist; the printer and a trial decide the rest.

Solvent and oil-based fast-dry numbers
Number	Ink direction	Common print width	What the number usually means
45si / 45A	Solvent 45si / water 45A	12.7 mm	HP’s own number; the platform reference point
B3F58A / B3F58B	Solvent, fast-dry	12.7 mm	Grouped with the 2580; A and B differ, read the label
F0L89B / F0L91A	Solvent	12.7 mm	Often swapped with the B3F58 pair; the printer decides
2580	Mild solvent, high adhesion	12.7 / 25.4 mm	High-adhesion end: metal, glass, PET, coated film
2586 / 2586K	Solvent	12.7 mm	Common on handheld and inline printers
2588	Oil-based, fast-dry	12.7 mm	Workhorse: PE bags, cartons, general packaging
2588M / 2588K	Oil-based, fast-dry	12.7 mm	Same family as 2588; ink or chip revision differs
2589	Solvent	12.7 mm	Appears in the same lists as the 2588
2590	Solvent	12.7 mm	Corresponds to the original number W3T10B
FOL13B / F0L13B	Solvent	12.7 mm	A 2588-compatible number; F0 and FO are the same
JS10 / JS12 / JS12M	Oil-based, fast-dry	12.7 mm	House numbers, common on handheld and small inline units
1704K / 2706K / 2790K	Solvent	12.7 mm	High resolution: fine text, logos, 2D codes
2560 / 2570	Solvent	12.7 mm	Paired with earlier models; confirm on the label

Compiled from public trade information. Two suppliers can fill one number with different inks, so treat colour and formulation as unconfirmed until you have read the physical label.

Alternate numbers that carry a colour code

This batch is numbered differently: the code after the number is the colour, and one number can hang under five of them.

B9F16A, B9F26A, 300S, 308S, 300av2 and 308av2 are alternate numbers rather than HP original parts. They are how individual suppliers describe a body and an ink on this platform, and they are the majority of what circulates.

BK is black, while BLUE, Magenta, GREEN and Yellow name themselves. The lesson sits in the ordering, not the reading: two cartridges that share a number and differ in colour are two different products, and a bare B9F16A identifies neither of them.

Alternate numbers that carry a colour code
Number	Print width	Ink direction	Colour	Typical use
B9F16A (BK)	12.7 mm	Solvent, fast-dry	Black	Non-porous: plastic, film, metal, glass
B9F16A (BLUE)	12.7 mm	Solvent, fast-dry	Blue	Non-porous: plastic, film, metal, glass
B9F16A (Magenta)	12.7 mm	Solvent, fast-dry	Magenta	Non-porous: plastic, film, metal, glass
B9F16A (GREEN)	12.7 mm	Solvent, fast-dry	Green	Non-porous: plastic, film, metal, glass
B9F16A (Yellow)	12.7 mm	Solvent, fast-dry	Yellow	Non-porous: plastic, film, metal, glass
300S E300 (BK)	12.7 mm	Solvent, super-black	Super-black	Super-black: contrast on dark material
300S B8F (BK)	12.7 mm	Solvent	Black	Non-porous: plastic, film, metal, glass
300S TBSW	12.7 mm	Solvent	White	White: reads on dark cable, plastic, board
300av2 TPG1 (BK)	12.7 mm	Water-based, pigment	Black	Porous: carton, paper, wood
B9F26A	25.4 mm	Solvent	Black	One-inch: multi-line, 2D code, logo
B9F26A (Yellow)	25.4 mm	Solvent, fast-dry	Yellow	One-inch: multi-line, 2D code, logo
308S TWSW	25.4 mm	Pigment, fast-dry	White	One-inch white: reads on a dark substrate
308av2 QPD1 (BK)	25.4 mm	Water-based pigment, fast-dry	Black	One-inch water-based: carton, paper

The codes after the number — E300, B8F, TBSW, TWSW, QPD1, TPG1 — look like each supplier’s own ink codes. What they stand for is that supplier’s business, so ask for their label and datasheet. Fill is 42 ml across all of them.

Quote the number and the colour together. A bare B9F16A cannot be picked or priced.
A number shaped like an HP part does not make an original part. On a printer that enforces a chip, the chip decides whether the cartridge runs at all.

Water-based numbers

For carton, paper and wood, where the surface absorbs. Adhesion is rarely the problem and the ink costs less, so the first question is simply whether your material takes water.

Water-based numbers
Number	Ink direction	Common print width	What the number usually means
45A	Water-based, pigment	12.7 mm	Single and multi-line text on carton, paper
2510 / F0L95A	Water-based, pigment	12.7 mm	Single and multi-line text on carton, paper
2520 / F0L69A	Water-based	12.7 mm	Confirm colour and formulation on the physical label
2242	Water-based	12.7 mm	Confirm colour and formulation on the physical label
4500	Water-based	12.7 mm	Confirm colour and formulation on the physical label
1918 / 2531	Water-based, dye	12.7 mm	Confirm colour and formulation on the physical label

Water-based fills are also 42 ml. Where a table entry says to confirm on the label, that is because the number is used for more than one colour or formulation in the market.

One number can be sold with a chip and without one. A printer that expects a handshake will not run the unchipped version, however correct the body is.
Mixing ink brands inside one printer puts the head at risk. Pick one ink and stay with it.

One supplier’s own line: the IQ and HD numbers

The tables above are trade numbers that many companies share. This one is different, because it belongs to a single company: the product line of General Co., Ltd, transcribed from their public English catalogue on 21 October 2026. If the cartridge in your hand carries one of these numbers, the table is here so that you can identify it.

These are that company’s numbers, not ours, and they are not HP original parts either. Their catalogue describes the inks as formulated in-house on HP bodies.
Identification only. We do not reproduce their per-ink performance claims, because a claim about adhesion or drying on someone else’s line says nothing about the material in front of you.
Same platform, not the same formulation. The 42 ml fill and the 12.7 or 25.4 mm width carry across; adhesion, drying and rub resistance do not.

Solvent (17)

One supplier’s own line: the IQ and HD numbers — Solvent
Model	Ink direction	Colour	Colorant	Stated shelf life
IQ797MAX	Solvent	Black	Dye	12 months
IQ890	Solvent	Black	Dye	12 months
IQ880	Solvent	Black	Dye	12 months
IQ797Plus	Solvent	Black	Dye	12 months
IQ800Plus	Solvent	Black	Dye	8 months
IQ800	Solvent	Black	Dye	9 months
IQ990	Solvent	Black	Dye	6 months
IQ801	Solvent	Black	Dye	9 months
IQ-HH	Solvent	Black	Dye	12 months
IQ-LH	Solvent	Black	Dye	12 months
IQ798Plus	Solvent	Red	Dye	12 months
IQ799	Solvent	Blue	Dye	6 months
IQ314Plus	Solvent	White	Pigment	12 months
IQ324S	Solvent	Yellow	Pigment	6 months
IQ334S	Solvent	Light blue	Pigment	6 months
IQ248S	Solvent	Clear → Red under UV	Dye	9 months
IQ249S	Solvent	Clear → Blue under UV	Dye	9 months

Water-based (7)

One supplier’s own line: the IQ and HD numbers — Water-based
Model	Ink direction	Colour	Colorant	Stated shelf life
HD156	Water-based	Black	Dye	12 months
HD119	Water-based	Black	Dye + pigment	12 months
HD119LD	Water-based	Black	Dye + pigment	12 months
IQ2392A	Water-based	Black	Pigment	12 months
HD120	Water-based	Blue	Dye + pigment	12 months
HD157	Water-based	Green	Dye	12 months
HD158	Water-based	Red	Dye	12 months

UV LED curing (9)

We do not supply UV-curable inks. This group is listed so that a cartridge you already own can be identified, not as something we can quote against.

One supplier’s own line: the IQ and HD numbers — UV LED curing
Model	Ink direction	Colour	Colorant	Stated shelf life
IQ128	UV LED curing	Black	Pigment	5 months
IQ430	UV LED curing	Black	Pigment	5 months
IQ431	UV LED curing	White	Pigment	5 months
IQ131C	UV LED curing	Light blue	Pigment	5 months
IQ433	UV LED curing	Clear	Not stated	5 months
IQ134CW	UV LED curing	Clear → White under UV	Not stated	5 months
IQ134CY	UV LED curing	Clear → Yellow under UV	Pigment	5 months
IQ134CM	UV LED curing	Clear → Magenta under UV	Pigment	5 months
IQ134CC	UV LED curing	Clear → Cyan under UV	Pigment	5 months

One column is deliberately absent: the catalogue’s feature description for each ink. Those are that company’s own assessment of its own range. Reprinting them here would dress an unverified claim up as a specification, so ask them for it or trial the ink.

Source: General Co., Ltd, English product catalogue, transcribed 21 October 2026. Model names, colours, colorants and shelf lives are as published there. Their catalogue states neither print width nor fill volume, so neither is given; the platform values are 12.7 or 25.4 mm and 42 ml.

Four criteria that beat any number

A number answers whether the body fits. These four answer whether the result is worth shipping.

01

Print width

Half-inch covers a date, a batch or a serial. Multi-line text, a 2D code or a logo needs the one-inch body, and wider content is built by butting heads together.

02

Ink direction, decided by the material

Porous material takes water-based ink; coated film, plastic, metal and glass need solvent or mild solvent. Get this wrong and the correct number still fails, which is why the material question comes before the model question.

03

Consumption and reorder rhythm

42 ml is a constant, not a selection criterion. What needs planning is your reorder rhythm: take ink in batches, so that nothing reaches its shelf life while it waits.

04

Chip: enforced or open

One number exists in a chipped and an unchipped version. If your printer insists on a handshake, the open version will not run. Confirming this needs the printer brand and model, not the cartridge alone.

Where these figures come from

Platform figures

Nozzle count, resolution, print width, drop volume and throw distance come from HP’s published 51645A data, cross-checked against TIJ 2.5 documentation in circulation. They are format characteristics, so they hold across models.

What does not transfer

That data describes a desktop-era consumer cartridge. Industrial TIJ 2.5 uses the same head platform with entirely different inks. Drying time, adhesion, rub resistance and decap are ink properties: read them from the model’s own datasheet, never from the platform table.

How to use a number safely

Treat every number on this page as a candidate rather than an answer. Send the printer brand and model, a photo of the label on the cartridge you run now, the material, and what the code has to survive. We check platform and chip, and where the answer is still unclear we send a sample before you commit.

On third-party catalogues

The third-party section exists to translate a label and nothing more. A shared platform is not a shared formulation, and no number on any list makes an ink suitable for your line. Only a trial on your own material does that.

Read the substrate matching guide →

Questions that come with a model number

Can a B9F16A or B9F26A replace a 2588?

Only if the body, the chip and the ink all line up, and the first of those rules one of them out: B9F26A is a one-inch body, while the 2588 is half-inch, so it is not a substitute at all. B9F16A can share a carriage with a 2588 on some printers, but the ink behind each number is chosen by its supplier rather than by the number. Send the printer model and we will tell you which of the three has to be checked.

I run IQ800 cartridges from General. Can you supply an equivalent?

We can tell you what IQ800 is, because the catalogue lists it as a solvent black on the standard body. What we cannot tell you is that ours equals theirs, because nobody has measured that on your material. Our published range is a mild-solvent and a solvent fast-dry cartridge in six colours, so ask for a sample against your printer instead of an equivalence claim.

Are 2588, 2580 and 2589 the same cartridge?

No. They share a body and a 42 ml fill, and they are sold with different inks. The 2580 sits at the high-adhesion, mild-solvent end, the 2588 is the oil-based fast-dry workhorse for packaging, and the 2589 is usually solvent. A filler may treat any of them differently again, which is why the number alone cannot settle it.

Why do you not publish full specifications for every number?

Because for most of them we would be inventing the numbers. We publish specifications for the cartridges we make, taken from our own production and testing. For a number we do not make, the honest entries are the ink direction and the width. Anything beyond that would be copied from a catalogue we cannot verify.

Is a claim of 800,000 characters from a 42 ml cartridge credible?

Character yield depends on how many dots each character needs, not on ink volume alone. A single-line 5 × 7 code at 12.7 mm uses a fraction of the dots that a 2D code at the same height does, so one figure cannot describe both. Treat any single yield figure as marketing, and not credible on its own, until it has been measured on your print content.

How do I confirm which number my printer needs?

Send the printer brand and model, a photo of the label on the cartridge you use now, the material and the code content. The label is the strongest single piece of evidence, because it carries the supplier, the colour code and often a chip revision. Where that is not enough we send a sample, since a trial on your line is the only proof that counts.

Can one printer run cartridges with different numbers?

Often yes, and it is how second sourcing works. Two numbers can share a carriage while carrying different inks, so a printer accepting the body says nothing about the print matching. If both will be used for the same code on the same material, trial them side by side before switching production over.