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HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

arstechnica.com

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Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#2
Article states:

"we should note the IITC's obvious stakes in this. The nonprofit trade association was founded in 2000 and says it represents "toner and inkjet cartridge remanufacturers, component suppliers, and cartridge collectors in North America."

But no mention of the GEC's funding sources and conflicts of interest.

And yes, printer manufacturers suck

Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#3
I found a surprisingly simple workaround...

Put a resistor, about 1kohm, in the power line to the security chip on the cartridge.

Now, whenever the printer tries to read data from the chip, it works. Whenever it tries to record data to the chip (for example, marking the cartridge as empty), that uses more power, and the memory chip doesn't respond.

Amazingly, the whole setup just works and prints forever, saying the cartridges are always full...

Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#5

I found a surprisingly simple workaround... Put a resistor, about 1kohm, in the power line to the security chip on the cartridge. Now, whenever the printer tries to read data from the chip, it works. Whenever it tries to record data to the chip (for example, marking the cartridge as empty), that uses more power, and the memory chip doesn't respond. Amazingly, the whole setup just works and prints forever, saying the…

smart!

Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#6
Get an Epson EcoTank printer.

Ink for those is available in *bottles* from Epson, it's dirt cheap. No more cartridges!

Make sure to get one which has a user-replaceable "maintenance box", the cheaper ones have a fixed one. You can find that out by e.g. looking at the supplies list on the Epson website, see if the maintenance box is listed alongside the ink.

The box contains the sponge where ink goes to during the cleaning procedure. It needs to be replaced every once in a while. Replacing it is very easy on the user-serviceable ones, the other ones would require mailing it to Epson.

Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#7

Get an Epson EcoTank printer. Ink for those is available in *bottles* from Epson, it's dirt cheap. No more cartridges! Make sure to get one which has a user-replaceable "maintenance box", the cheaper ones have a fixed one. You can find that out by e.g. looking at the supplies list on the Epson website, see if the maintenance box is listed alongside the ink. The box contains the sponge where ink goes to during the cle…

both hp and epson offset the expendable costs on those.

even if you avoid the fixed box trap, you cannot avoid the "replace printer head nozzle" trap that the driver will use to lock you out of your printer in a year or so.

Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#8

I found a surprisingly simple workaround... Put a resistor, about 1kohm, in the power line to the security chip on the cartridge. Now, whenever the printer tries to read data from the chip, it works. Whenever it tries to record data to the chip (for example, marking the cartridge as empty), that uses more power, and the memory chip doesn't respond. Amazingly, the whole setup just works and prints forever, saying the…

I found a simple workaround too — not buying HP printers. Nor other HP products.

Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#9

Get an Epson EcoTank printer. Ink for those is available in *bottles* from Epson, it's dirt cheap. No more cartridges! Make sure to get one which has a user-replaceable "maintenance box", the cheaper ones have a fixed one. You can find that out by e.g. looking at the supplies list on the Epson website, see if the maintenance box is listed alongside the ink. The box contains the sponge where ink goes to during the cle…

both hp and epson offset the expendable costs on those. even if you avoid the fixed box trap, you cannot avoid the "replace printer head nozzle" trap that the driver will use to lock you out of your printer in a year or so.

I have printed over 5000 pages with mine, the head is fine (head test printout looks good), I don't know what you're referring to?

To me it rather looks like consumers have been so thoroughly conditioned to distrust printers that they aren't even capable of trusting the good ones anymore maybe - and thus unfortunately keep buying the garbage ones, thinking it doesn't make a difference.

I.e. whenever one of the actual solutions is discussed there's this gossip of "nah, they're also ripping you off" - but I have the thing right behind my desk and it works just fine.

Re: HP printers should have EPEAT ecolabels revoked, trade group demands

#10

Get an Epson EcoTank printer. Ink for those is available in *bottles* from Epson, it's dirt cheap. No more cartridges! Make sure to get one which has a user-replaceable "maintenance box", the cheaper ones have a fixed one. You can find that out by e.g. looking at the supplies list on the Epson website, see if the maintenance box is listed alongside the ink. The box contains the sponge where ink goes to during the cle…

I wish they didn't use glass, I imagine people will be rinsing them in the sink to recycle them
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