HP 642A

Before office color lasers got slim, machines like the Color LaserJet CP4005 did the heavy lifting — and many are still doing it. Their supply family is the HP 642A set: CB400A black, CB401A cyan, CB402A yellow and CB403A magenta. Four separate cartridges keep registration tight and color consistent across the long reports and in-house marketing runs these departmental printers were built for, in a single standard size.

The CP4005 earned a reputation as a tank: a big, networked workgroup printer — the plain model, the N and the DN — that offices kept long after newer machines arrived around it. That longevity changes the toner conversation. The question is rarely how to feed a new printer and usually how to keep a proven one printing like itself without spending new-printer money on supplies. Fresh cartridges are almost always the answer: a CP4005 with tired toner looks old, while the same machine on fresh cartridges produces output nobody questions.

Toner Cartridges for HP 642A

Cartridge	Color	Yield
CB400A black cartridge (642A)	Black	See product page
CB401A cyan cartridge (642A)	Cyan	See product page
CB402A yellow cartridge (642A)	Yellow	See product page
CB403A magenta cartridge (642A)	Magenta	See product page
642A 4 Color Set	Black, cyan, yellow, magenta	See product page

The complete set is also stocked under the printer's own name: CP4005 Toner Cartridges 4 Color Set.

Which cartridge should you buy?

Follow the channel levels. Black empties first in almost every office, so a spare CB400A is the standing purchase; colors follow one at a time as they fade. The four-color set is the right call when a CP4005 comes back into service after sitting, or when all four channels have aged together and color has gone generally tired rather than failing in one channel. There is no capacity tier to weigh here — one standard size, singles or the set. Each cartridge is a compatible replacement with a 1-year warranty and 1-year returns.

Chip, toner and everyday use

Older workgroup machines are honest about toner: the panel reports each channel, and output quality tells the same story. Change one cartridge at a time so you can see its effect, and give the printer its calibration cycle before judging color. On a machine of this age, also wipe the cartridge contacts with a dry cloth during the swap — years of dust are the most common cause of a new cartridge not being recognized. A veteran CP4005 on fresh toner and clean contacts usually prints like it has years left, because it does.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which CP4005 models take the 642A family?

All three: the Color LaserJet CP4005, CP4005N and CP4005DN. The compatibility list also carries the same models under HP's LaserJet tree naming. If your machine's name matches one of those, the CB400A through CB403A set is its family.

Are compatible cartridges a sensible choice for a printer this old?

They are the proportionate choice. A compatible 642A is built to the same fit and electrical spec as the original, so it installs identically — and it keeps a working veteran running without supply costs that approach the machine's remaining value.

Which cartridge will I replace most often?

Black, by a wide margin, because everyday documents lean on it. Colors last longer unless the machine prints brochures, charts or photos regularly. Keep one spare black and the CP4005 never stalls a job.

Color looks washed out on every channel at once. One cartridge or four?

All four aging together is common on a long-serving machine. If the levels are all low, the four-color set restores balance in one pass; replacing a single color against three tired ones rarely matches.