HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low • Hacker News Board

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#111

Post by CalRobert » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:09 AM UTC

JohnBooty wrote: post #108

esel2k wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which brother do you have / recommend? I have been quiet happy with my OKI but the phone connection is the only letdown so far and I might change for a brother in the future.

The cheap ones are great too. There are a few models at $150 and under. There are minor differentiators for them like Airprint and double-sided printing. I bought one a few months ago. Best computer-related thing I've purchased in ages. It JUST WORKS. As the review says, Here’s the best printer in 2023: the Brother laser printer that everyone has. Stop thinking about it and just buy one. It will be fine! [...] The Br…

Heh.

From your link.

""" ... And here’s 275 words about printers I asked ChatGPT to write so this post ranks in search because Google thinks you have to pad out articles in order to demonstrate “authority,” but I am telling you to just buy whatever Brother laser printer is on sale and never think about printers again. ChatGPT ideas about printers (I didn’t even proofread this. Don’t read it unless you are a lonely Google search robot, in which case look at this incredible demonstration of experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness and rank this post first in searches for “best printer.”)

Laser printers are popular choices for home and office use because they offer fast printing speeds, h... """

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#112

Post by FredPret » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:09 AM UTC

PopePompus wrote: post #74

sneak wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Boeing, perhaps. The same thing happened there, as I understand it. There’s also a strong argument for post-Jobs Apple being an even more tragic arc (that’s earlier on the curve). Time will tell. These things happen on the order of decades, not years. Brain drain is real.

Good point! At least the sad husk of HP isn't killing people.

When’s the last time Boeing killed anyone?

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#113

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:12 AM UTC

Retric wrote: post #109

coder543 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've seen it first hand, then fair enough. It just doesn't agree with the consensus I have seen online, so I find that confusing. As I've said previously, I have the most basic laser printer at home, and rarely use it. I just happen to have done a ton of research into printers lately because I've thought about getting a photo printer, and I really like what the ET-8550 has to offer. But, for the time being, I've…

Cool, I don’t have a large sample size so I could easily be wrong here. Something I just came across is various models have different monthly page expectations for their 2 year of ink promotion: “Based on average monthly document print volumes of about 150 pages (ST-C2100), 200 pages (ST-C4100), 300 pages (ST-M1000/ST-M3000/ST-C5000/ST-C5500/ST-C8000/ST-C8090) and 750 pages (WF-M5799 Supertank). Promo applies to ink…

[deleted]

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#114

Post by exodust » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:13 AM UTC

sundvor wrote: post #53

tivert wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Which brother do you have / recommend? I have been quiet happy with my OKI but the phone connection is the only letdown so far and I might change for a brother in the future. I have a brother HL-2270dw that I've been using for more than 10 years that I'm happy with. I don't think they make that exact model anymore, but Wirecutter recommends the HL-2350dw (I don't know what you get for the extra $10 to get a HL-2370…

Can confirm the Brother series is great. I have the HL-L2375DW. I got accused of being a shill last time I posted about it, so I'm preempting this by calling it out. :-) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37006705#37007593 However it just sits there asleep at an extremely low wattage most of the time, then pops instantly to life the moment a page is sent to it - as bgirard pointed out, without even needing to insta…

To be fair on your accuser, it's only been 60 days since your last Brother Laser promotional post. Last time you included details about price, and a note about "supporting Brother" by not using third party toner.

I own an Epson eco-tank inkjet and happy with it, but I'm not invested in convincing others about it. I wouldn't put a laser printer in my house. Regardless of whether it's actually a proven health risk, I don't want my printer emitting tiny particles. And I want the option of good quality colour prints using different paper types and thickness.

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#115

Post by coder543 » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:24 AM UTC

Retric wrote: post #109

coder543 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you've seen it first hand, then fair enough. It just doesn't agree with the consensus I have seen online, so I find that confusing. As I've said previously, I have the most basic laser printer at home, and rarely use it. I just happen to have done a ton of research into printers lately because I've thought about getting a photo printer, and I really like what the ET-8550 has to offer. But, for the time being, I've…

Cool, I don’t have a large sample size so I could easily be wrong here. Something I just came across is various models have different monthly page expectations for their 2 year of ink promotion: “Based on average monthly document print volumes of about 150 pages (ST-C2100), 200 pages (ST-C4100), 300 pages (ST-M1000/ST-M3000/ST-C5000/ST-C5500/ST-C8000/ST-C8090) and 750 pages (WF-M5799 Supertank). Promo applies to ink…

I would assume a free ink promotion would explicitly choose not to cover heavy users, but it's not necessarily an indication of what they think the printers are capable of.

But, it is an interesting set of numbers, and could indicate something.

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#116

Post by dosman33 » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:34 AM UTC

In the 2010's I had a project I'd do about once a year where I needed to print ~100 pages of directions that was mostly text with light-duty images mixed in for products I was selling. I was using my trusty inkjet printer, but over time the capacity of the carts degraded to the point I could only get ~80 pages of B&W printing out of a single inkjet cartridge. I had tried buying refill carts but they consistently failed and cost me time I couldn't afford to loose so I also gave up on non-authentic carts. So that meant I was having to buy two inkjet carts each run which pushed my cost per print up towards nearly $1 per page... for a product I was selling for $20.

I finally had enough and bought an HP full color laser printer for $250 around 2015 or so. Even with the degraded toner carts that came with it out of the box I was able to cut my cost per sheet down to about 25 cents or better. The last set of toner refills I got hurt my wallet at ~$450, but my price-per-sheet gets down to a dime per sheet on those. I'm thankful my printer proceeds these nutty subscription drivers though! I swore off ever using inkjet again after my first season of use on this laserjet.

But of course I'm thankful this printer proceeded these nutty drivers that disable your printing without a subscription. We've reached the end of the infinite expansion economic system and subscription services are the natural next step to that. Market forces have driven down the cost of durable goods to the point most consumer goods have been disposable for decades now. The next step is subscription models of everything to maintain similar profit margins. Likewise, CBDC's are a natural extension of the banking system as it hits the same growth limits. They outright state in their whitepapers that one of their core purposes is to "prevent recessions" by setting expiration terms on funds held by consumers which will "induce spending" as needed. It's all the same ball of wax.

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#117

Post by davchana » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:47 AM UTC

somehnguy wrote: post #21

esel2k wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which brother do you have / recommend? I have been quiet happy with my OKI but the phone connection is the only letdown so far and I might change for a brother in the future.

Not a Brother printer but I would like to recommend the Canon MF240. I bought it at Walmart for $99 - and it feels like I practically stole it with how good it's been to me. Has both Wifi & ethernet, automatically wakes when sent a print job, scanner works great, etc. Works perfect with generic toner cartridges from Amazon, no funny business with DRM. Canon in general have been good printers in my experience. I recen…

Bought the same in 2020 Black Friday for $49, and intro toner had about 1000 pages, lasting me for about 2.5 years. Then I bought a full toner for $49, going great.

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#118

Post by trevoragilbert » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 2:50 AM UTC

FredPret wrote: post #112

PopePompus wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good point! At least the sad husk of HP isn't killing people.

When’s the last time Boeing killed anyone?

In 2019 in Ethiopia.

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#119

Post by ryukoposting » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 3:10 AM UTC

I have an Epson flatbed scanner for my photography, a V600. It's a lovely little device. Crapware-free functionality. Granted, it seems like the bundled software hasn't been updated since the stone age, but that might be a good thing.

My HP inkjet, on the other hand, is a wreck. I had to install an app on my phone, pair over bluetooth, connect it to wi-fi, and create an account just to get a damn test page. No USB cable included, by the way. Many cursing matches eventually got it working, but I regret buying it. Once the ink runs out, I'll probably send it to Goodwill or something.

Re: HP fails to derail claims that it bricks scanners on printers when ink runs low

#120

Post by vel0city » Fri, Oct 06, 2023, 3:28 AM UTC

moberley wrote: post #110

bgirard wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I followed this advice and it's been great. I have a $350 laser Brother printer, my iPhone can find the printer without fiddling with drivers, it wakes up, print, goes back to sleep. Works fine even if I go months without printing. After my last 'free ink forever' HP inkjet that never worked, a working printer is a blessing.

I generally like Brother printers but sometimes the software is less great. I have a Brother DCP-L2550DW which is very good but for some reason the scan to PC function no longer works over the network. Printing still works as expected in all cases, but ControlCenter4 can't communicate via the network anymore. It works fine if I connect a USB cable so I just do that when I need to scan.

Did you disable SNMP? I used to have that disabled but recently control center always wants to check the status from SNMP so I ended up re-enabling it and now it works just fine again.