HP’s long-running use of firmware updates that block third-party ink and toner cartridges is drawing scrutiny again – this time under a new global sustainability standard that explicitly forbids the practice.
The International Imaging Technology Council (Int’l ITC), a trade group for cartridge remanufacturers, says HP’s latest printer firmware rollout conflicts with the requirements of the General Electronics Council’s (GEC) updated Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT 2.0.
Just bust the printer mafia already!
It’s also rampant assholery, but that’s harder to legislate.
But it would make a good law outlawing corporate assholery as a whole and might make a difference. Imagine a world in which corpos are not allowed to fuck over anyone, not their supplier, their partners or the customer… the world would be different.
Only? What about all the other right to repair and freedom of choice laws?
Imagine bricking a car because it filled up at a competitive brands gas station.
Honey I am going to do fill up the Honda and the Honda station!
I paid $0.01 for a flash drive at Microcenter and $0.10 per page(or job, I don’t know) to print at the library. I don’t even have a library card there. I learned enough about printers taking an A+ class to not want to fuck around with printers at home.
Wait how did you pay 1 cent for a flash drive? I mean they’re cheap but I’ve never seen them for that cheap.
Probably some “sale” for when you purchase something else for $50 at 50% markup. Bonus of adding to “sales” tally for some generations old dogshit flash drive they otherwise could not sell.
Nobody buys HP anymore , HP stands for Has Problems
I used to work with a lot of HP’s industrial printers. The automated maintenance routines always take so damn long, and they break all the time. We always said HP stands for Have Patience.
Made the mistake of buying a HP “gaming laptop.” The goddamn thing chugs if you have five browser tabs open.
The last time we tried using them, the computer came with Windows 98…
They were horrible back then, not really sure how they are still in business.
Yeah, the problem is that they’re anti-consumer.
I thought it stood for Horrible Product.
Nah… My office does, and then pays a vendor to handle the issues (I work in IT, fixing those problems is literally my job) and they still cheap out on knock off toner (some of which works). It makes me sad…
Never buy HP! Never! They are scum!
it’s been at least 15 years that I’ve known better than to buy any HP products. Still - fuck their CEO(s) with a rusty rebar.
If a third-party ink cart can introduce a “cyber threat,” your unbelievably shoddy firmware would be the problem, you disingenuous Hamburglars.
Hp printer is in my banned list for decades already.
Global sustainability rules???
I did tech support for HP DeskJet printers in 1996 - the 600, 600C, and 660C. I had a DeskJet around that time, but that was the last one I got because they started screwing around with the drivers.
Back in the 80s/90s, HP made some great printers. Had a LaserJet 4 that lasted a long long time.
But not long after I moved on to another job - I never bought HP again. And that’s now been a recommendation for literally 30 years.
Do not buy HP!
Also, unless you print a LOT of pictures, don’t buy inkjets. The ink has so many issues. Get a laserjer. Brother is a good simple brand. I have had a Brother color laser since 2018 and it’s still chugging along perfectly. I’m on around my second set of cartridges because I don’t print a lot. But whenever I do print, it’s there and ready to go.
There’s a couple of other brands that are alright, too.
But do not buy HP. Jesus, people, it’s been a full generation of people since this has been true! Nobody should be buying HP inkjet crap!
Funnily enough I’ve owned 2 inkjets spanning two decades, both very infrequently used and… I never had issues. The last one was an HP even. Though after like a decade, the ink dried up I think. Before that I could just take it out of its hiding spot after a year and it’d still work.
Never planning to buy another one though. If I REALLY need to, I’ll get a black and white laser one.
HP used to make a lot of great stuff. Their spectrum analyzers were the best in the business. At some point they flipped a switch and went into full enshittification mode. They burned all their bridges with their most loyal and informed customers.
Seems like it’s a consistent recurring issue with… capitalism? Whatever you want to blame it on. Profit-taking instead of consistent quality. Some assholes take over and trade on the previously good name of a company while killing it. It’s so stupid and short-sighted.
I would say that, but… there are a lot of, for example, Japanese companies that have been around for decades or centuries making great stuff the way they always had. Unless you’re saying Japan isn’t a capitalist country (I’d love to see how that argument plays out), I’d say there’s some difference in company culture that leads to enshittification.
I’ve heard in some cases it happens when a new CEO takes over and they have no respect for the existing culture, and just want to “make their mark” by chasing short term profits.
Give me Brother printers or give me death.
Hmm. Not sure that’s a line I’m willing to draw… but they are certainly pretty decent. hehe
Brother has also started down the proprietary toner road. Source.
Damn it, didnt know this. Need to find another not shitty printer when my current printer decides to die later on
idk about the don’t but inkjet… i don’t print much but got an epson surecolor (large format; prints up to a1 off a roll of paper… i got it because i think the idea of being able to do that is excellent more than actual use case) and it’s been absolutely glorious… the ink doesn’t dry out fast, and because it’s a borderline professional printer they don’t gouge you on the ink: they just sell you the printer for what it’s worth, and then sell the ink for what it’s worth
i think there are reasonable arguments for ink, but i guess that if you have to give 1 recommendation (outside of a brand to go with), laser is probably a safe bet
I’ve started thinking recently about business practices and printing and “Apple printer” jokes, and, well, Apple was making printers in the olden days when I was a baby.
So, they could be making very expensive, but good printers, with no cartridge DRM whatsoever, now.
That would possibly be a good thing, and with such regulations pressing at the opposing business model, could even be a financially good variant.
OK, I think I’m starting to show fanboyish traits. I sort of really liked Apple when I was a kid, but later I started seeing iPhones around and I didn’t like their change from home computers and iPods to that.
The way apple is now, you would only be able to print (wirelessly) through Apple products. And probably also DRM ink cartridges on a “security” basis.
Old Apple is not the same as current Apple.
Depends. If that printer were very expensive, the first part could be true, but they could make ink officially rechargeable, something like that.
HUEY PACKA doing the usual enshittification.
Do yourselves a favor … lookup chipless firmware
The only reason I would buy an HP printer, is to sue them after.
