Live data from Hacker News

CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

lumafield.com

161–170 of 276 posts

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#161
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is outrageous. Only a small percentage of owners know this kind of tricks. Imagine the environmental damage created by thousands of users throwing away perfectly usable cartridges. I always feel bad about throwing away laser printer cartridges, they have so many components that are working just fine, there should be a way to just refill the toner and reuse it.

If you think Samsung is bad, HP is much worse. Stay away from HP printers including laser

Is Brother any better? So far happy with my Laser Brother, way happier than the nightmares I've had with inkjet printers. But I have to admit we changed the tonner after less than 2000 pages. I assumed the cartrige had small capacity and didn't arise my suspicions. Should I worry?

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#162

Somewhat related, I recently bought a Brita water filter jug which has a little led on the lid which glows red when the disposable filter cartridge has “expired” and needs replacing. Before I even started to use the thing I knew what to expect. Sure enough it starts to glow red after a ridiculously short period of time of using a brand new filter cartridge. I’ve been ignoring it for a few weeks now and checking for a…

Just FYI, those brita jug indicators are based on a counter that increments every time the lid pops open from a pour, after a certain threshold the light changes color.

It depends on the model. Mine has the light on the dispenser (at the bottom) and the lid (at the top) has nothing connecting it to the light. I know there's nothing connecting them because it came unassembled and I put it together. I believe it is simply a timer on my model.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#164
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it? It’s a dying industry. When was the last time you printed anything?

Got kids? All the damn time. Have craft-related hobbies? All the damn time. Patterns, instructions, et c. Despite having a shitload of iPads and extra laptops and such around. Paper's far nicer in many cases, and sometimes cannot be replaced by a screen of any kind.

> Despite having a shitload of iPads and extra laptops and such around.

My SO likes to bake decorated cakes. When decorating she prints out the design, so she can put the cut-out paper pieces on the cake to finalize sizing and composition of the decoration. Be it text, a symbol or something more elaborate.

Just so much easier than trying to imagine what that thing on the tablet would look like draped over the side of the cake.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Got kids? All the damn time. Have craft-related hobbies? All the damn time. Patterns, instructions, et c. Despite having a shitload of iPads and extra laptops and such around. Paper's far nicer in many cases, and sometimes cannot be replaced by a screen of any kind.

> Despite having a shitload of iPads and extra laptops and such around. My SO likes to bake decorated cakes. When decorating she prints out the design, so she can put the cut-out paper pieces on the cake to finalize sizing and composition of the decoration. Be it text, a symbol or something more elaborate. Just so much easier than trying to imagine what that thing on the tablet would look like draped over the side of…

Right, there are tons of cases in various crafts, including things like cake decorating, where you need to destroy or deform a template or guide or placeholder, or at least for which it'd be very convenient, if not strictly necessary, to do so. You obviously can't and/or don't want to do that with a screen.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#166

I think we should slap all these companies with class action lawsuits till they start behaving. This is outrageous behavior. How can these executives sleep at night?

I'm sure it gets easier if you're rolling in money.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think Samsung is bad, HP is much worse. Stay away from HP printers including laser

Is Brother any better? So far happy with my Laser Brother, way happier than the nightmares I've had with inkjet printers. But I have to admit we changed the tonner after less than 2000 pages. I assumed the cartrige had small capacity and didn't arise my suspicions. Should I worry?

No. They just run X pages and assume the cartridge is empty.

You can reset it with some faintly annoying incantations, and I'd suggest doing so until you notice actual print quality issues. Especially on black.

The logic is... reasonably sound from a print quality perspective. "We know the cartridge can print XXXX pages of reasonable coverage without any fading/dropouts/etc. If the user replaces it at that point, they will never have any print issues." If your goal is "flawless printing," it's a reasonable enough path. It's just not particularly cost effective for the end user. It is, however, cheaper and more profitable than actual toner level sensor/mixing device/etc.

But, yes, there's a hidden menu to reset the toner counter on Brother, and in my experience, there's at least another 50% of rated capacity pages lurking in the cartridges unless you print very toner-heavy pages.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#168
post #41

If you have a Samsung laserprinter with number pad and empty toner / imaging unit try menu # 1904 menu and reset the counter, then happily print thousands of pages more

I bought a Samsung printer a few years ago. A couple of months later, I discovered that Samsung's printer arm had been acquired by Hewlett-Packard - the company I least wanted to buy a printer from. My printer has no number pad. It has a horrible menu system you navigate with arrow-keys. The cartridge it came with was tiny - it lasted for less than a ream. But the replacement I bought is still going strong (I don't p…

Just make sure you never do a firmware upgrade unless it's absolutely required, and, if possible, disable DNS lookups for FW upgrade with something like pihole.

E.g., for Epson, that is epsonpfu.ebz.epson.net

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#169
post #9

The printer industry needs a revolution.

Does it? It’s a dying industry. When was the last time you printed anything?

I'm in manufacturing. We print probably 10k pages a day. Not everyone is a work from home app developer.

Re: CT scan shows there's still lots of toner left in an “empty” cartridge

#170
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is outrageous. Only a small percentage of owners know this kind of tricks. Imagine the environmental damage created by thousands of users throwing away perfectly usable cartridges. I always feel bad about throwing away laser printer cartridges, they have so many components that are working just fine, there should be a way to just refill the toner and reuse it.

If you think Samsung is bad, HP is much worse. Stay away from HP printers including laser

Ye olde Deskjet 500 was pretty good, however.
Post reply on HN