Following Printer DRM Fiasco, HP Needs To Do More To Fix Reputation, Says EFF

[Lucian Armasu]

After HP promised to allow Officejet Pro printer customers to print again using third-party ink cartridges, the EFF has three more requests that the organization thinks can help HP repair the reputation of its printer business.

Following Printer DRM Fiasco, HP Needs To Do More To Fix Reputation, Says EFF : Read more

 

[Jake Hall]

Horrible company

 

[chicofehr]

Reminds me of DRM on coffee makers. The pirating groups should release a firmware that removes the DRM. Always update manually if you can 😛

 

[clonazepam]

Epson went through similar issues almost two decades ago, with having electronic chips built into their ink cartridges, in an attempt to block the use of 3rd party inks. They all try to get away with whatever they can.

 

[anbello262]

I don't know about a few decades ago, but Epson is definitely doing this exactly now. They block by DRM unofficial ink systems.

 

[HEKT1K]

HP printers have always been notoriously unreliable, something I can not tolerate when I need to print a report for the next days. Most HP printers I've had have broke in 2-4 months.

My Canon and Brother printers are rock solid after years of service.

 

[Hydrotricithline]

You want people to buy your ink.. either make it economical or superior. Cannon for example. People don't buy their lenses printers and ink (being overpriced) because they're shitty. You want people to use your ink, make better ink, or make it cheaper. Don't sell some 25$ printer with 400$usd a year maintenance in ink then think you can just lock them into your run of the mill over priced ink. Glad this ruling went down. I personally don't use 'refills' myself because the ink sucks.. but you know what.. I'd like that option.. especially for blacks where provided it's not faded or 'blueish' it's pretty hard to get completely wrong.

 

[tommatthews1951]

This article would be far better if the author expanded all of these abbreviations the first time they were used. Not everyone is familiar with these and the article would have been far more meaningful to me had an attempt been to use the unabbreviated version first.

 

[captaincharisma]

they haven't done anything to fix it in over a century so why would they start now?

 

[cheesemanx]

On this particular case I am siding with HP, we have lost 2 printers in my company for 3rd party ink that have destroyed the devices and when I have a site out in the middle of nowhere and I have to drive 4 hours each way to replace a broken printer because some scantily clad woman talked the site manager into buy crummy 3rd party ink, then yes I would have liked the device to not print with anything other original HP ink.

 

[ikaz]

Cheesemanx Sorry you work for a company that has crappy employees I work in IT for a large company (mutli site, region, ect) any time the department "Breaks" equipment because of misuse it's charged back to the department. Then they have to explain why they are over budget at the end of the year.

I have no problem with HP say warning that using non-HP ink can say void warrentee but that should be up to the end user who purchased the device to make the decision.

 

[Avus]

HP may made good printer hardware but their software (drivers) are/were always sucks... It is always baffle me that why their all-in-one printer drivers are 300+MB big!!??

 

[BuffaloChuck]

I've had HP computers 'forever'. I still keep Deskjet 970, 722 and 822s around because they do one thing no other color printer does - print on continuous-form paper - so I can have a 13-page or 28-page full color banner. It's great. But the 970 series, along with the Epson R200-300s (and therefore Canons) have all tricked users into auto-updates. This isn't a new strategy at all. However, by blocking their software via firewall settings, their software runs but fails to connect. No updates are applied.

The WORST thing these manufacturers are getting away with is refusing to supply drivers for new Windows versions. Printers that are perfectly great, hardware-wise, but Microsoft needs to 'sign' them for authentication.

Why don't the printer-makers let us mail THEIR products back to THEIR disposal units - like the CEO's backyard pool, for example? Let's fill up THEIR landfills with THEIR printers they choose not to support. The Landfill Issue should be getting far more publicity.

 

[abbadon_34]

Why I still love my 10+ year old three R200's, two R220's, and two RX500: hundreds of fool proof generics over the last 10 years at less than $1 a catridge.

 

[jasonf2]

Doing business I have had quite a few printers over the years. HP may be getting a black eye for this but let me assure you that more than one laser printer out there doesn't play nice with after market refills. One of the worst experiences I ever had was with a Samsung that after a firmware update shut down $400 worth of aftermarket refills that had been installed and functional for a month. I ended up pulling the old chips out of the old OEM toner cartridges and running it until they ran out manually. Thankfully most business printers will still let you run after end of life (Unlike consumer inkjet). Between this and color accuracy I just stay OEM anymore.

 

[Kimonajane]

I got rid of my money pit HP inkjet printer years ago and bought a cheap black and white Laser Printer, no regrets. The powder does not dry up like inkjets and after several years now it still has the original cartridge in it and running fine. If I want a picture printed out for some reason I just stop by one of many stores and pay a buck or two to have it put on paper.

 

[jaber2]

I can't believe this shit is still going on, what did you expect when you buy a $25 color printer in a box bigger than your car? you think this shit is free? remember that fax paper fiasco? this is a old way for selling cheap equipment and living off selling your supplies