Ask HN: Why is the printer industry so scammy?

Post by fjfbsufhdvfy » Wed, Aug 31, 2022, 1:34 PM UTC

codepoet80 wrote: post #56

fjfbsufhdvfy wrote: post #47

Bit off topic, but what printer would people recommend for someone who needs one every now and then, that is capable of color prints and scanning, that won't stop working when unused for several months? I'm getting the impression ink jet is not the way to go due to the long pauses, but the color lasers are all seem very expensive for such occasional use.

Pick up a Brother color laser. They are one of the least hostile to their customers, and their prices are reasonable. Buy new if you have to, but if you can find one a few years old in good condition, I find their older models to be the most reliable and least scammy...

Post by lnsru » Wed, Aug 31, 2022, 1:35 PM UTC

leonidasv wrote: post #28

Toner printers are "less scammy", at least in my experience. I had a HP one and always bought the genuine cartridges. Then I saw those videos about the printing industry scams (which does happen) and tried a third party toner that costs 1/5 of the price. Guess what? After like 10 perfect printed pages, it started leaking some powder, then stopped printing random chunks of the page and turned impossible to use. I went…

Post by bluedino » Wed, Aug 31, 2022, 1:36 PM UTC

mu_killnine wrote: post #59

acjohnson55 wrote: post #39

I used to work for Lexmark, back when they were in the inkjet business. They are perhaps most notable for starting and fueling the race to the bottom in printer price. The theory was that if you could lock the users in, the customer lifetime value would be made on selling profitably prices supplies (i.e. the ink cartridge). There were a few big problems with this: - People often could buy a new printer, with supplies…

Just an anecdote: my grandfather passed away a few years ago and he was always into new technology. After he passed when we were cleaning up his home we found no fewer than 11 inkjet printers in his basement. Every time one stopped working (probably ran out of ink, or printed poorly because of long delays between printing) he would go to Best Buy, get talked up by a salesperson about a nice new printer, and buy it. I…

  2 packs of color ink (remind the customer that the included cartridges are only half-full)
  2 packs of black ink
  4 reams of regular paper
  2 packages of photo paper
  GOLD printer cable
  The Best Buy Service Plan, of course

Post by nordsieck » Wed, Aug 31, 2022, 1:36 PM UTC

rufus_foreman wrote: post #71

raverbashing wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"updating the drivers" no Good printers use PS/PCL, nobody cares about drivers, a generic one usually works

Quoted post unavailable.

Post by motohagiography » Wed, Aug 31, 2022, 1:37 PM UTC