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How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

kevin.deldycke.com

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Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#81

Post by save_ferris »

alkonaut wrote: post #75

Why would you buy an HP printer and try 3rd party ink, when you know the whole business model is subsidizing the printer and selling you expensive ink, and you also know that the whole printer cartrige space is full of DRM roadblock? Do this: look at what a printer + as many 1st party refills as you'll need for several years will cost you. Compare that number across multiple manufacturers. If the number seems high -…

> Why would you buy an HP printer and try 3rd party ink, when you know the whole business model is subsidizing the printer and selling you expensive ink, and you also know that the whole printer cartrige space is full of DRM roadblock?

The vast majority of people don't know this because HP spends tons of money on marketing to distract consumers from the fact that they do this.

Stuff like this is why consumer protection laws are so important: not everybody has the time, energy or mental capability to absorb the nuances of the business models behind the consumer products they buy. And billions are spent marketing to obscure these practices. Buying a consumer-grade printer shouldn't be such an effing minefield , but it is because they market heavily and lobby against consumer protections.

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#82

Post by jandrese »

Nextgrid wrote: post #56
Havoc wrote: post #53

Home printers are dead anyway. The one thing I did still need them for (printing labels for packages) is being taken over by QR codes

Thermal label printers (printing directly onto adhesive labels) are a good replacement for this use-case, with none of the downsides of ink or cartridges. Furthermore their usage in businesses means there's an endless supply of labels in various sizes so you don't depend on the manufacturer for anything.

> with none of the downsides of ink or cartridges

But with a whole new set of fresh and exciting downsides like expensive paper and fading in sunlight.

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#83

Post by pzs »

lsaferite wrote: post #61
jug wrote: post #33

I thought this was illegal and why the third party cartridge market is so big. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend inkjet printers for normal home users: for plain text, I'd use a B&W laserjet printer and if I had to print in color (like broschures or food recipes with photos), I'd use a color laserjet. For quality photos, I'd send them in to a professional service: it's still pretty cheap compared to inkjet printing... I'v…

This is a LaserJet printer he's talking about FWIW.

I bought an original HP cartridge for my Laserjet printer because I read that 3rd party cartridges may have issues with displaying the amount of ink left. Everything was all fine until the other day I did some cleaning on my desk and put my printer on the floor for 15 minutes. Since I put it back on my desk, it has been complaining that the cartridge is close to being empty, whereas it should be at about 70%. I removed the cartridge and put it back but nothing changed. In light of the post, it may be interesting if anyone else had a similar issue with either the original or the 3rd party cartridge.

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#84

Post by kdeldycke »

nemetroid wrote: post #67
lsaferite wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a LaserJet printer he's talking about FWIW.

Yeah, the headline should be "...ban[s] 3rd-party toner cartridges".

Good point. And sorry for the imprecision. Just fixed it: https://github.com/kdeldycke/kevin-deldycke-blog/commit/6306...

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#85

Post by anonunivgrad »

gonzo41 wrote: post #4

How is this not something akin to an anti-trust issue? Fun story. I had a printer for a while, and then I just didn't after university. I don't print anything anymore. To no loss at all. It's either on my phone or I write things with a pen.

Since this is not an agreement in restraint of trade, just a unilateral action, then antitrust law would only have something to say if HP had a monopoly on printers, which no one can seriously argue.

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#86

Post by dorfsmay »

huhtenberg wrote: post #26

Instead of disabling auto-updates you can also clear the default gateway on the printer. No gateway = no Internet access, but it's still LAN addressable.

I have a Brother printer with wifi. The day it upgrades and block me from using reasonably priced toner, I'll set up to a Raspberry Pi as a print server and hook it up via USB.

I'm wondering how much of a market there's going to be for this and if cheaper devices could be used.

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#87

Post by mwexler »

jug wrote: post #33

I thought this was illegal and why the third party cartridge market is so big. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend inkjet printers for normal home users: for plain text, I'd use a B&W laserjet printer and if I had to print in color (like broschures or food recipes with photos), I'd use a color laserjet. For quality photos, I'd send them in to a professional service: it's still pretty cheap compared to inkjet printing... I'v…

It's often the "all-in-one" nature that make these printers so attractive. Yes, master of none, but most consumer grade lasers tend not to have copiers/scanners or (shudder) fax capability. The (deceivingly) low entry price for "all that power!" seals the deal. It also avoids having multiple printers, which is tough in a small room. So most folks take the quality hit knowingly, even as they don't prepare for the companies to change the rules, on an already purchased product, midstream.

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#88

Post by cesarb »

pizza234 wrote: post #15
alpanka wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HP laserjets have pretty good Linux support, it's usually plugnplay on Ubuntu.

Confirmed, although it should be noted that some may require a blob ("Binary plugin") in order to print and/or scanning (mosts frequently scanning). See table here: https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing/bina... . > Most Linux distributions include HPLIP with their software, but most do not include the plug-in This is not exactly pleasing for open source enthusiasts (me included).

I prefer the list at https://developers.hp.com/hp-linux-imaging-and-printing/supp... which shows which models do not need the blob.

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#89

Post by everdrive »

LeonM wrote: post #27
a012 wrote: post #10

Most of printer drivers are BS. I also bought a printer after lockdown, and had to spent hours to do research on the printer model that's interested me: Mac & linux compatible. The result is Brother is the most reliable and less BS than the rest printers. In the end, I bought a wireless Brother printer, and you can throw whatever cartridge in to it.

I have run a paperless business (and life, mostly) for the past 10 years. For some old-fashoned customers I always carried a Brother DS-mobile 600 portable document scanner in my bag. The scanner was expensive, but really nice. And it worked perfectly with MacOS 'capture' application that existed on Snowleapard (10.6). However, Apple removed TWAIN support in MacOs Lion (10.7), and Brother refused to release updated d…

Install Linux?

Re: How to revert HP printer’s ban on 3rd-party ink cartridges

#90

Post by bonoboTP »

GekkePrutser wrote: post #49
bArray wrote: post #30

I can understand HP wanting to prevent their customers from being conned into buying false cartridges, or wanting to ensure the best possible experience for customers. But. Is it not enough to bring up a dialogue or warning telling the user it's false and they are breaking warranty, rather than outright disabling the cartridge? This seems like HP is acting anti-competitively, such that a third party would struggle to…

> I can understand HP wanting to prevent their customers from being conned into buying false cartridges, or wanting to ensure the best possible experience for customers. Nah, that's just the marketing PR blurb they attach to this stuff. The real reason is $$$, nothing else.

Sometimes I think "but won't this hurt them in the long term? After dealing with HP printers I get nautious when looking at an HP logo, I get this bracing defensive adversarial feeling, this can't be good for a brand".

But then I realize I'm not a typical consumer, and most of us aren't, here on HN.

Do typical consumers even have the vocabulary and mental concepts in place (the basics you learn in e.g. free software philosophy, right to repair movement, etc).

I think most people don't. They just see that "Hm, the machine says this ink is bad. Damn those guys who sold it to me! I guess I can only trust genuine HP products." I don't think normal people's reaction is to suspect malevolent marketing and updates. I think when people don't have a good mental model of what is going on they will just take it at face value and therefore the HP brand won't suffer much damage even in the long term.

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