Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink • Hacker News Board

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#361

Post by systemvoltage » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:09 PM UTC

captn3m0 wrote: post #307

systemvoltage wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's not throw the baby with the bathwater. Injket printers have advantages and can be cheap if we dismantle the highway robbery of inks. Just because inks are expensive does not mean that we should get rid of inkjet technology. > I really don't see a reason for inkjet printers to exist, I hope they will disappear from the market. Perhaps you should investigate why they exist. Seems too naive to wish for their disap…

The highway robbery is what keeps them cheap? Honest Question: Would inkjets remain cheap if they all accepted $STANDARD bottles available everywhere and compatible with all printers.

We solved the similar problem for exchangeable storage media in the form of SD-Cards. Before SD Cards, the whole thing was fragmented like the printer industry. CF cards, minidisks, and proprietary memory sticks. It can be done.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#362

Post by tonyedgecombe » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:12 PM UTC

ouid wrote: post #301

shostack wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You know a market is bad when a company can lead the space simply with the platform of "we won't scam you."

Kinda sounds like the whole economy though.

In some ways we bring it on ourselves by being such cheapskates. People post reviews in the app stores because they think $2 is expensive for an app then wonder why they end up with free software that sells their private data to the highest bidder.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#363

Post by alpaca128 » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:14 PM UTC

centizen wrote: post #271

neilv wrote: post #173

As many techies will probably always say anytime inkjet product shenanigans come up: just buy a laser printer. And I now add: and don't let it connect to the Internet, and don't install proprietary drivers or software for it on your computers. Also, remember the names of companies doing sketchy things, and do your part to provide negative feedback when you can, and to give positive feedback to better companies. (Exam…

Canon was actually on my short list of printer vendors I would have recommended people to use. Now it's just down to Brother and Kyocera I guess.

Among all the printers in our household the Canon model broke in the least amount of time, only fixable with a spare part which was "coincidentally" the same price as the whole printer. And the official scanning tool was just named "ij utility", which meant it was impossible to find with related search terms.

It was entertaining, but not in a good way.

Honestly I've never been satisfied with any printer, inkjet or laser. I eagerly await the day I just don't need one.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#364

Post by lallysingh » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:14 PM UTC

greentissue wrote: post #241

somehnguy wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW I was totally set on picking up a Brother B&W Laser a few months ago to replace my crappy inkjet because I've had great experiences with them in the past. I wanted it now though, and locally could only really find a good deal on a Canon. I'm extremely happy with it, prints great, fast enough for me, can get knockoff toner for cheap on Amazon that hasn't given me any issues, and the wifi networking is rock solid.…

Brother makes good hardware but bad software. They recently gave up support on newer versions MacOS. They have an android printing driving with 100+ reviews @ 1.X out of 5 stars. It not longer works on newer android phones. I've tried for years to get my networked brother multifunction laster printer working with my chromebook to no avail. If it somewhat works its printing things slightly incorrectly, running out of…

I just got my 3rd Brother Laser (color with scanner). Everything (iPad, Mac, iPhone, Linux, android) prints perfectly with it.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#365

Post by tonyedgecombe » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:18 PM UTC

gerbilly wrote: post #344

kitsunesoba wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m tempted to track down an old LaserWriter myself, those things don’t quit. Are you able to find toner for yours reliably?

So far so good on the Toner. I _think_ I heard that the guts were the same as an IBM printer, but I might be wrong on that.

I think it used a Canon print engine.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#366

Post by int_19h » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:21 PM UTC

egberts1 wrote: post #47

Brothers LaserJet. No malware, no adware, no funky drivers; just colored, WiFi, LP-protocol, multi-tray PCL and PS support. Best thing since sliced bread.

I have a Brother MFC that has been working for ~10 years now. No problems using third party toner.

One thing I did notice, though, is that it will start complaining and bugging you about replacing the toner before it actually runs out. There's a well-known way to reset that check, though, allowing you to print until it actually runs out.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#367

Post by int_19h » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:23 PM UTC

quickthrower2 wrote: post #236

egberts1 wrote: post #47

Brothers LaserJet. No malware, no adware, no funky drivers; just colored, WiFi, LP-protocol, multi-tray PCL and PS support. Best thing since sliced bread.

Brother sells overpriced refills but there are off brand replacements about half the price. They also report ink run out on starter cartridges when it hasn’t. I think the only ethical printers are 3D ones.

Have you tried resetting the counter? The procedure is different on different models, but it goes something like this: https://www.inkhub.com.au/ink/brother-mfc-l3750cdw-toner-res...

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#368

Post by jiggawatts » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:24 PM UTC

okl wrote: post #352

greggman3 wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Laser printers, at least in my experience, suck for photos. Not that people print photos any more but if you're using your printer for any kind of small framed photos or crafts than a laser printer really isn't a solution

But honestly, even consumer inkjet printouts suck, compared to photos printed on a professional machine.

I have a “consumer” Canon Pixma printer that has 12 different ink cartridges. The quality is absurdly good, and commercial printing has only recently caught up.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#369

Post by tonyedgecombe » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:25 PM UTC

neilv wrote: post #173

As many techies will probably always say anytime inkjet product shenanigans come up: just buy a laser printer. And I now add: and don't let it connect to the Internet, and don't install proprietary drivers or software for it on your computers. Also, remember the names of companies doing sketchy things, and do your part to provide negative feedback when you can, and to give positive feedback to better companies. (Exam…

>don't install proprietary drivers

If you do need the drivers often you can unzip the installer and look for the .INF file. Installing from that will save you from the crappier parts of the software.

Re: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink

#370

Post by perl4ever » Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 9:28 PM UTC

egberts1 wrote: post #47

Brothers LaserJet. No malware, no adware, no funky drivers; just colored, WiFi, LP-protocol, multi-tray PCL and PS support. Best thing since sliced bread.

Is that like a Canon Xerox?