HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer • Hacker News Board

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#11

Post by mmastrac » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:27 PM UTC

My HP LaserJet 6P is still running strong, almost 20 years after I bought it second-hand and almost 25 since it was released (!). I've been using nothing but unofficial toner in it and other than some streaking that developed in the last few years (too lazy to clean the toner for now), it's been flawless.

Apparently HP made things so well for so long that they've decided to correct that mistake.

No subscription required. A small JetDirect server makes it an IPP-capable PCL printer.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#12

Post by tinus_hn » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:38 PM UTC

ommz wrote: post #8

> Requires the HP Smart app download. > Subscription may be required; subscription may not be available in all countries > HP account required for full functionality > Get up to 5,000 pages or up to 2 years of pre-filled toner The disclaimers, or more succinctly, the anti-feature section.

In other news one toner of a generic HP laser printer prints about 3500 pages, without apps or subscription. And then you can send them to HP and they’ll recycle it for free, if you care about the environmental impact. I don’t quite understand what is the market for this product.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#13

Post by grishka » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:46 PM UTC

scohesc wrote: post #6

whitewingjek wrote: post #4

> NOTE: The printer only works with original HP toner refill kits. If original HP toner is not installed in the printer, the printer will not work as expected. Still vendor locked. Rather just stick with something you can refill yourself.

I wonder how they could tell though - Maybe the refill bottles themselves have electrical contacts and that's how they serialize the refills? Once it's been dumped into the printer, they burn an efuse on the refill so it's now useless to anybody? Seems like more waste than anything.

Seems like an interesting reverse engineering project.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#14

Post by annoyingnoob » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:54 PM UTC

I've had great luck with both Xerox and Brother printers. Both laser and inkjet. No vendor lock in, no funny business.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#15

Post by andrewia » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:54 PM UTC

ommz wrote: post #8

> Requires the HP Smart app download. > Subscription may be required; subscription may not be available in all countries > HP account required for full functionality > Get up to 5,000 pages or up to 2 years of pre-filled toner The disclaimers, or more succinctly, the anti-feature section.

I think that's only for the Wi-Fi printing. The HP smart app is terrible and makes you sign up for features that work on a local network. I just visit my printer's internal web server with a desktop user agent to show the "remote scan" features. Printing over local Wi-Fi doesn't need the HP Smart app, just the HP print service plugin that doesn't require login (and also conveniently enables USB printing, if you want to use an OTG dongle with your phone).

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#16

Post by kube-system » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:56 PM UTC

mmastrac wrote: post #11

My HP LaserJet 6P is still running strong, almost 20 years after I bought it second-hand and almost 25 since it was released (!). I've been using nothing but unofficial toner in it and other than some streaking that developed in the last few years (too lazy to clean the toner for now), it's been flawless. Apparently HP made things so well for so long that they've decided to correct that mistake. No subscription requi…

Running stuff well within its intended duty cycle is also a good way to get a long life out of something. I like to buy second hand enterprise gear, and I really never see failures out of anything that wasn't already worn out.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#17

Post by andrewia » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:57 PM UTC

Bad news from the Q&A section of one of the printers:

> With the enhancements giving the new drum a 50k page life it's no longer intended to be a user-serviced part and won't be sold via retail channels. That said, it is still able to be replaced through an HP Service Center or HP Parts in the event it is needed to be replaced.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#18

Post by megraf » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:59 PM UTC

CISS's (Continuous Ink Supply System's) have been around for decades. You can buy pretty basic printers and retrofit them with a $100 system that will hold enough ink to print 10's of thousands of pages. The problem with this system is that the ink heads dry (quickly). If you're doing a lot of printing (daily / weekly) – a CISS is pretty much your bread and butter.

Refilling the ink in a CISS is pretty simple as well, just take your time.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#19

Post by andrewia » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 5:59 PM UTC

whitewingjek wrote: post #4

> NOTE: The printer only works with original HP toner refill kits. If original HP toner is not installed in the printer, the printer will not work as expected. Still vendor locked. Rather just stick with something you can refill yourself.

Looking at the manual, the toner refill kit is entirely passive and has no electrical contacts or other authentication. That's just verbage to scare you into buying their refill kit instead of the inevitable generic version.

Re: HP LaserJet Tank – Refillable laser printer

#20

Post by function_seven » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 6:03 PM UTC

scohesc wrote: post #6

whitewingjek wrote: post #4

> NOTE: The printer only works with original HP toner refill kits. If original HP toner is not installed in the printer, the printer will not work as expected. Still vendor locked. Rather just stick with something you can refill yourself.

I wonder how they could tell though - Maybe the refill bottles themselves have electrical contacts and that's how they serialize the refills? Once it's been dumped into the printer, they burn an efuse on the refill so it's now useless to anybody? Seems like more waste than anything.

My uninformed guess is an RFID tag in each refill bag. The printer will scan for Genuine Authorized Original Virtuous Toner, and only then allow the fill port to open. Once open you have one hour before that tag ID is burned and can't be used further.

Or maybe you need to use the app and do this? (https://ssl-product-images.www8-hp.com/pub/msc/C26A0B64-54DB...)

Whatever the mechanism, reviews are not good: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-143a-black-original-nev...