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

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

#181
post #42

I'm surprised how many people are writing about their solutions for printing. I thought by now most people had done what I've done and just set things up not to need to print. Xournal allows me to fill out anything I could print from PDF with a stylus on my touch screen. If I want to read and highlight something, I convert it to PDF and read it in Logseq with the same stylus. I can highlight in four colors and it aut…

Some things require an ink signature. That’s probably 50% of the tiny amount of printing I do.

I've yet to find anything accepted electronically where a scanned copy of my ink signature (from 10 years ago) added electronically to the form was distinguishable from printing it and signing it today.

Anything not accepted electronically, the entity requiring the signature also provided the blank form.

That's why I'm stumped. I genuinely have not had a need to print something in 10+ years.

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

#182
post #43
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, I ended up with the MFC-L3770CDW because there was a big sale on it, not from any particular research.

Also have a MFC-L3770CDW, it's perfectly fine but you really have to pay attention to consumable cost when selecting laser MFC. A cartridge of TN227BK (high-yield black toner) for the MFC-L3770CDW is ~$80 for a ~3000 page yield, while a TN433BK cartridge that fits a MFC-L8900CDW is $85 for a ~4500 page yield. That's a (toner-only) cost per page of ~2.5c vs ~1.8c, or nearly a 30% reduction in toner cost; the differenc…

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't looked into it since I'm still on the original cartridge. When I value my time debugging janky inkjet printers I think even a 4.3c/page printing cost is still acceptance since I have low volume, rare printing jobs.

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

#183
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.

solving or working around software issues is for some reason more satisfying than fighting intentionally disabled, non documented, functions.

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

#184
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also have a MFC-L3770CDW, it's perfectly fine but you really have to pay attention to consumable cost when selecting laser MFC. A cartridge of TN227BK (high-yield black toner) for the MFC-L3770CDW is ~$80 for a ~3000 page yield, while a TN433BK cartridge that fits a MFC-L8900CDW is $85 for a ~4500 page yield. That's a (toner-only) cost per page of ~2.5c vs ~1.8c, or nearly a 30% reduction in toner cost; the differenc…

Thanks for the tip. I hadn't looked into it since I'm still on the original cartridge. When I value my time debugging janky inkjet printers I think even a 4.3c/page printing cost is still acceptance since I have low volume, rare printing jobs.

Realistically if your volume is that low the break-even point will be long after the machine becomes unobservable anyway, but I'd still always recommend people take a look at $/page metrics for consumables before they buy just so they avoid getting stuck in the same shitty situation as cheap inkjets.

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

#185

Canon 100% does this on my printer/scanner if the ink dries up (long time without printing) or it thinks you have pirate ink. It throws up some error message that you can't clear until you put in new ink cartridges. This is very annoying as I scan frequently but very, very rarely print. I'd readily replace it but I cannot find a laser printer with duplex scanner with ADF that isn't obscenely expensive and/or huge.

You might try a separate duplex scanner. Less than $200. There are a number of very compact ones. Connect with wi-fi or usb.

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

#186

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 ca…

Scanning is the only thing that Brother has let me down on the whole working without extra software idea. Scanning in Windows without their software stack just can't get the same quality scans. It's limited to 600dpi, it doesn't have as crisp quality, and it doesn't natively do PDF. Installing the drivers and software stack, it'll do multipage PDF at 1200dpi looking crisp no problem.

My Epson will do 6400dpi optically, but it can do some upsampling shenanigans all the way up to 12800dpi. Unnecessary levels of resolution for documents, but it's amazing what it can do for your grandma's old film slides. It's not cheap, but the performance is hard to argue with.

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

#188

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?

Uhm not sure about the exact date but Boeing Defense produces military aircraft so probably not too long ago.

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

#189
"HP is committed to becoming the world's most sustainable and equitable technology company" .. while maximizing device quality, shareholder profit and executive salaries at the same time. Absolutely no conflict of interest. Funny capitalism.

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

#190
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.

I've got a Brother DCP-L2540DW. The only feature I wish it had was duplex scanning from the auto document feeder. Otherwise its been an immensely solid printer. I gave up doing photo printing at home. These days I'll just order prints online. If I want it quick or save on postage I'll just pick it up at a convenience store close by. The break even on a new high end photo printer is after thousands of photos by compar…

I agree the duplex scanning from the feeder is a big miss for my model as well.
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