Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink • Hacker News Board

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

#131

Post by ethbr0 » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 4:58 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #107

kube-system wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you highly overestimate the amount of research the average person does on a printer purchase. Yes, some people will buy a CR magazine or ask their friends/relatives opinion for a $30k car, but will they do that before buying a $60 printer?

True, but I would have figured that by now, so many people would have had bad experiences with inkjet printers from HP/epson/canon that they would have sought out that information. Or maybe even retailers would promote it so people are more satisfied with their purchases.

Here is the average printer purchaser:

"Hello Best Buy / Staples / Office Depot salesperson, I need a printer."

"Well, I'd recommend (insert whichever manufacturer currently cutting retail most margin)."

"No, a friend had a bad experience with them."

"Oh, then (insert second highest margin)."

(Repeat)

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

#132

Post by spideymans » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 4:58 PM UTC

osrec wrote: post #22

Damn the need for recurring revenue. It makes us make bad things that eat away at our own resources. I wished there was an alternative payment model, where everything is perhaps paid off over time. If the product fails during the specified time period, the payments stop. It would hopefully give the companies some sort of recurring revenue, while incentivising them to build something that lasts and not play dirty tric…

Crazy idea, but Amazon Prime Printing.

It would be a great free Amazon Prime perk for the home market, where people print only a few times a year, and don’t necessarily mind waiting 24 to 48 hour for a printed document to come in the mail. I’d imagine revenue could come in from higher-quality printing options (photos, books, etc…)

Living in a small apartment, I don’t have the space to keep a printer that would only be used a few times a year, so I’d love this kind of service.

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

#133

Post by MPSimmons » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 4:59 PM UTC

If the point of a class action lawsuit is to change behavior, $5m is not enough to bring it to the attention of the people who need to see it, in that organization.

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

#134

Post by netcan » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 4:59 PM UTC

mensetmanusman wrote: post #11

For some reason I enabled the ‘auto refill’ on my new canon printer because that is what our office did (somehow). Don’t do that: it kept making purchases because it didn’t receive the ink as fast as it expected due to supply chain issues. It took a long time for Canon to cancel the orders that had never left the factory and give our hundreds of dollars back. It’s a fun story at least!

There's an onion article in there somewhere. Honestly, giving a money grubbing printer a credit card and ordering powers might make a decent analogy to parts of the supply chain issues at large.

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

#135

Post by kube-system » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 5:00 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #100

kube-system wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s has historically proven difficult to sustain that model because the consumer printer market for the past 20 years has been race to the bottom. It’s hard to compete when competitors are selling their printers at or below cost. Consumers mostly tend to make their purchase decisions on the margin, and so the razors-and-blades model works well. I guess there may be a few recent exceptions to this like the Epson Ecot…

Brother has been selling solid printers and software for as long as I have used them, which is 15+ years.

I agree, and I have a couple of them myself.

But they’re not the ones cranking out the $20-$50 inkjets that litter the shelves at Walmart/Best Buy

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

#136

Post by JustAnonymous » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 5:00 PM UTC

alerighi wrote: post #18

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…

> I really don't see a reason for inkjet printers to exist, I hope they will disappear from the market.

What's preventing the exact same thing happening to laser printers? You have to buy toner as well.

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

#137

Post by KingMachiavelli » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 5:00 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #103

sillyquiet wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. Have had a Brother HL-2270 (b&w laser printing) for years, and couldn't be happier with it, especially coupled with a PI-based CUPS server for AirPrint capability and the like. The only thing I miss about not having an inkjet is color printing and at-home photo printing, but there are so many on-demand online print shops nowadays, I can't say it's a big deal.

It was going to cost me $100+ to refill the inks on my large format HP inkjet photo printer. I took it up to the attic a few months back from whence it will likely go in the trash in a few years. I have the same Brother printer and it just works for occasional B&W printing. The rare color photo prints I want are easily handled (better) online and, while I'd like to print a color map or something now and then, it's no…

For that purpose a color laser jet works just fine although are are much more expensive.

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

#138

Post by mlyle » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 5:01 PM UTC

lazide wrote: post #115

factotvm wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you miss the part about kids?

Have two of them, youngest under 3, and a full time single parent. If you don’t plan ahead and direct them usefully, they’ll roll you hard (not out of malice, but because they’re kids) and everyone has a much tougher time.

My middle schooler often doesn't have more than a couple days between when he has everything necessary to complete an assignment, and when it is due. He has other workload, too, so there's no guarantee he's working on it that night. Getting to the one drugstore with a remaining photocenter near me in the evening is a pain. Even with notice, it's a pain.

People have legitimate reasons to want their own high quality color printers, even if that is its own pain, too.

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

#139

Post by MPSimmons » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 5:01 PM UTC

sonofhans wrote: post #49

orev wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

What you say is not true for professional photographers or designers. For one thing, pro-level printers are in fact better than what the drug store has, which are optimized for speed, economy, and vibrancy — none of which are major concerns for professionals. They want accuracy and quality above all else. For another thing, being able to print proofs in your own office is important. Having to run to the drug store to…

The kind of crap that HP is pulling here is not a concern for pro-level printers.

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

#140

Post by koheripbal » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 5:02 PM UTC

sxt wrote: post #129

alerighi wrote: post #18

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…

My friend, if you have the time, learn to refill your cartridges on your own. I own one of them cheap HP 25XX for home use, I simply refuse to buy new cartridges and give in, I instead got a refill kit with 100ml bottles of all colours for ~9$, and now all I need is 15 min of time for refill and the slight risk of creating a mess during the process. The HP cartridge holds an approx 9ml, so that gives an idea of how l…

15mins here and there, isn't much, but I still paying slightly more for a laser printer and changing the toner cartridge once per year. It takes one minute, and I really dont mind being limited to black/white.

My brother MFC has lasted over 10 years now - no repairs needed. It's so old it only allows WEP wifi connection and my kid loves the beeping noises the fax button makes.