Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink
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Isn't it great we live in a world where printer ink costs more than human blood...
Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink
Sept 20, 2016
Printer companies and third-party cartridge manufacturers (and refillers) have a long, fraught relationship. Recently, HP added another problem to the mix. The printer maker introduced a tweak to its firmware that caused HP printers to reject third-party ink cartridges.This isn’t some freak accident that can be corrected by reloading an unrecognized cartridge. It’s very real. “The purpose of this update is to protect HP’s innovations and intellectual property,” HP said in a statement to the BBC.
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@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
This isn’t some freak accident that can be corrected by reloading an unrecognized cartridge. It’s very real. “The purpose of this update is to protect HP’s innovations and intellectual property,” HP said in a statement to the BBC.
Read: It's a money grab. We don't like you reusing real cartridges or buying third party ones.
Looks like I won't be buying any more HP printers.
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This is just another step. On their big lasers they have been detecting if the cartridge was genuine or not and basically putting the printer in to draft mode to make the quality appear worse. Toner pirates responded by buying used toner cartridges, splitting them open, and refilling with toner. I have come across those refurbs before. it's usually a pretty bad hack job that uses little metal clamps and screws to hold it while the glue dries.
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This is like the keurig K-cups... Keurig started doing the same thing, so folks figured out a way around it, and then when their Kreurigs started dying, folks went out and bought something else.
I highly suspect a lot of folks will do the same thing if they figure out that HP is doing this. I've been using third party ink in my inkjet printers for years. Some of them have been great, and others have...exploded while printing, lol. It is a bit of a crapshoot until you find a decent refurbishing company.
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@dafyre said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
This isn’t some freak accident that can be corrected by reloading an unrecognized cartridge. It’s very real. “The purpose of this update is to protect HP’s innovations and intellectual property,” HP said in a statement to the BBC.
Read: It's a money grab. We don't like you reusing real cartridges or buying third party ones.
Looks like I won't be buying any more HP printers.
It's long been known that InkJet printers aren't worth the hardware. The ink has always been expensive and the printer cheap. So many just buy new printers rather than worry with ink.
The HP 8620 I have is a $229 printer, and ink for it (from HP) is $96 for the combo pack.
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The problem with new printers is now they sell them with "starter packs" that hardly have any ink in them.
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@Mike-Davis said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
The problem with new printers is now they sell them with "starter packs" that hardly have any ink in them.
That is not anything new.
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@Mike-Davis said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
The problem with new printers is now they sell them with "starter packs" that hardly have any ink in them.
Yup,.. Even Laser printers use starter cartridges..
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Epson Eco-Tank models.
They have a few other niggling issues, I mean, they are still Epson printers after all. But expensive ink isn't one.
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@travisdh1 said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Epson Eco-Tank models.
They have a few other niggling issues, I mean, they are still Epson printers after all. But expensive ink isn't one.
Yea,.. I've pointed a person or two at them for that reason...
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We can make open source farming equipment, why not open source printers?
Oh yeah... because printing is a dying market (pun intended.)
But seriously, the printer market should be open source, dirt cheap and all but gone at this point. Not that there won't always be a need to print, but it should not be a major industry.
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@scottalanmiller said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
We can make open source farming equipment, why not open source printers?
Oh yeah... because printing is a dying market (pun intended.)
But seriously, the printer market should be open source, dirt cheap and all but gone at this point. Not that there won't always be a need to print, but it should not be a major industry.
Print is a dying market I agree. But if you look at the History of Paper and Digital means, Paper has been around and survived more than digital has.
Paper goes back a very long time. Requires no power to maintain and can be recycled hundreds of times.
Although - digital is easier to carry.. 'maintain' and reproduce.
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@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Print is a dying market I agree. But if you look at the History of Paper and Digital means, Paper has been around and survived more than digital has.
That makes no sense. If you look at the history of paper and digital, digital has grown continuously since inception and paper and shrunk continuously since the introduction of digital. History teaches us that paper is losing without exception. And that digital is winning.
Paper has been around, but only has a history of surviving when there is no competition. Now it has competition and all evidence shows is losing more and more.
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@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Paper goes back a very long time. Requires no power to maintain and can be recycled hundreds of times.
That it goes back a long time is not a factor. That's a red herring. Old doesn't indicate anything here.
It does require power to maintain as it needs careful climate control. It uses tons of power to produce and must be carefully protected. It's non-archival.
Digital can be recycled far, far more. My Kindle can show billions of pages on a single screen. Paper gets like 1.8 tops.
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@scottalanmiller said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Print is a dying market I agree. But if you look at the History of Paper and Digital means, Paper has been around and survived more than digital has.
That makes no sense. If you look at the history of paper and digital, digital has grown continuously since inception and paper and shrunk continuously since the introduction of digital. History teaches us that paper is losing without exception. And that digital is winning.
Paper has been around, but only has a history of surviving when there is no competition. Now it has competition and all evidence shows is losing more and more.
I was implying that Paper has been around since 105 A.D. And digital has been around (since the early) 1900's.
Paper and Digital have short comings they other doesn't.. Paper can survive an EMP, neither like water or fire but can be made to do so.
Digital is just a load of Ones and Zeros.. If you look at truly raw digital you don't see much,.. but if you look at raw paper,.. it can be artistic.
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@scottalanmiller said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Paper goes back a very long time. Requires no power to maintain and can be recycled hundreds of times.
That it goes back a long time is not a factor. That's a red herring. Old doesn't indicate anything here.
It does require power to maintain as it needs careful climate control. It uses tons of power to produce and must be carefully protected. It's non-archival.
Digital can be recycled far, far more. My Kindle can show billions of pages on a single screen. Paper gets like 1.8 tops.
Yea,.. we could go back and forth on this for a while.. so ... lets leave it. Both have their merit. While paper is falling out, it still has it's place.
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@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
I was implying that Paper has been around since 105 A.D. And digital has been around (since the early) 1900's.
Yes and that tells us... nothing really.
That logic would tell us that cars and airplanes are in danger of going away "because they are new."
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@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Paper and Digital have short comings they other doesn't.. Paper can survive an EMP, neither like water or fire but can be made to do so.
Digital can too, just depends on the type of storage.
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@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Digital is just a load of Ones and Zeros.. If you look at truly raw digital you don't see much,.. but if you look at raw paper,.. it can be artistic.
But... that's not useful or indicative.
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@gjacobse said in Firmware update for HP printers bans third-party ink:
Yea,.. we could go back and forth on this for a while.. so ... lets leave it. Both have their merit. While paper is falling out, it still has it's place.
Does it really, though? Bad for the environment, high in cost, more and more expensive to produce with less and less benefit.
