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Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

bleepingcomputer.com

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Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#32

I stopped buying inkjet printers. They are a scam, the ink costs a fortune and they are built as cheap as they can, meaning that they will break and you have to throw them away because they are impossible to repair, they are slow and when you need them they don't work because they were not used for too much time. After having 5 broken printers in the garage I said enough, that is a useless waste, and invested some mo…

The exception is if you print photos. There’s not really a good alternative to inkjet, except RA-4, which is out of reach for consumers.

If you print photos, go to a print service.

How often do you print photos that you can't?

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#33
post #27

I bought a 99 bucks HP printer many years ago and signed up for HP instant ink. I have been printing for free basically since then since I print less than 15 pages a month. Don't even have to worry about the ink anymore as they send it automatically when it is near empty. There are a few downsides. They count per page basis. So even if you print only one letter, it counts against you. When you have to print a lot, th…

Good luck until you get "print head needs replacement" error, and realize that for some reason it's more expensive than the printer itself.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#34

I'd be interested to know if this was intentional. I can very much see that the all-in-one device has some "initializeHardware()" function that tests and sets up all the internal components, which probably requires ink to run (firing an ink jet as part of the initialization with no ink present usually burns some ink and it'll permanently clog with carbon deposits). Likewise, I suspect if the light bulb in the scanner…

Printer companies have long lost their right to getting the benefit of the doubt.

At any rate, if your theory is correct then they are knowingly selling a defective product. Using the scanner is not a “corner case”, it’s one of the devices’ primary functions.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#35

I stopped buying inkjet printers. They are a scam, the ink costs a fortune and they are built as cheap as they can, meaning that they will break and you have to throw them away because they are impossible to repair, they are slow and when you need them they don't work because they were not used for too much time. After having 5 broken printers in the garage I said enough, that is a useless waste, and invested some mo…

The exception is if you print photos. There’s not really a good alternative to inkjet, except RA-4, which is out of reach for consumers.

Every Walmart can print photos in a hour for cheap, and if that’s not an option Shutterfly and friends are always doing sales (or free with shipping prints).

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#36
post #27

I bought a 99 bucks HP printer many years ago and signed up for HP instant ink. I have been printing for free basically since then since I print less than 15 pages a month. Don't even have to worry about the ink anymore as they send it automatically when it is near empty. There are a few downsides. They count per page basis. So even if you print only one letter, it counts against you. When you have to print a lot, th…

Didn't they try rescinding this deal? https://www.consumerreports.org/printers/hp-ends-free-ink-fo...

Regardless, the "free subscription" is no longer a thing that is available for purchase. It also doesn't seem cost effective, given the miniscule print quota; a single laser printer toner cartridge yields more than a decade of prints if you were able to somehow always hit exactly 15 pages a month.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#37
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The exception is if you print photos. There’s not really a good alternative to inkjet, except RA-4, which is out of reach for consumers.

There really is no reason to be printing photos on your own printer (for consumers, though I suspect it’s similar for pros). Every corner drug store (in the US) can print them with better quality and at a lower cost. Maybe it’s a slight hassle, but how many people are printing a significant quantity of photos anymore?

It’s kind of a pain to go to the drug store at 9pm to Print your kids solar system project. Just saying

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#38
post #29

I stopped buying inkjet printers. They are a scam, the ink costs a fortune and they are built as cheap as they can, meaning that they will break and you have to throw them away because they are impossible to repair, they are slow and when you need them they don't work because they were not used for too much time. After having 5 broken printers in the garage I said enough, that is a useless waste, and invested some mo…

At the low number of pages printed at home, I don’t mind buying the actual name-brand toner. If you’re only changing it every 2 years, the cost doesn’t matter much, and at least the company (i.e. Brother) gets some profit from being a good citizen. Going with non-OEM toner in that situation just drives the company into needing to find more revenue streams, such as locking down the cartridges, which undermines you. At…

How about they make their money by selling a good printer? I don't have to buy has from my car company if I want a good car.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#39

My HP inkjet will not print any color or black if the “photo black” cartridge is removed. I consider this a similar “greed move” by HP.

The water dispenser on my fridge stops working if it decides the filter needs to be replaced. I get about ten days between the “new filter” light and when it stops working with the beeping and blinking getting progressively more annoying. Oddly enough the ice dispenser (which also uses the filter) continues to function. So it’s not a safety issue and someone apparently decided consumers would tolerate the inconvenien…

You can sometimes replace the filter (take the old one out and put it back in) and then reset the timer to get more water.
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