HP issues firmware update that bans third-party ink cartridges... again

[Godel]

I hate to say it, but It's usually cheaper to just buy a new printer than refill the ink. I end up just buying another printer and throwing the old one out or giving it away. I had a really night cannon photo printer that could print 11X17 AND refillable tanks but it had 25pin serial connector so once the computer I printed from died it had to go. Thought it would be easy to replace it but then I deal with all the printer shenanigans and just throw them out. I especially hate the cartridges that have chips in them that once the run out of ink they 1) are killed and can't be refilled and 2) stop you from printing in black and white because one color is out. Why is it so hard to find a good printer with refillable cartridges at an affordable price?

I thought printer makers had woken up to that years ago and now only supply "starter" cartridges with their new printers, with only a few hundred pages worth of ink inside.

Not sure if it generally applies, but years ago HP were also geoblocking their ink cartridges. A legitimate HP cartridge bought in Asia would not work with an Australian bought printer. Then there's their old trick of reporting the cartridge as empty when there was still 10% to 20% of ink remaining.

 

[Scorpion5679]

I hate to say it, but It's usually cheaper to just buy a new printer than refill the ink. I end up just buying another printer and throwing the old one out or giving it away. I had a really night cannon photo printer that could print 11X17 AND refillable tanks but it had 25pin serial connector so once the computer I printed from died it had to go. Thought it would be easy to replace it but then I deal with all the printer shenanigans and just throw them out. I especially hate the cartridges that have chips in them that once the run out of ink they 1) are killed and can't be refilled and 2) stop you from printing in black and white because one color is out. Why is it so hard to find a good printer with refillable cartridges at an affordable price?

I thought printer makers had woken up to that years ago and now only supply "starter" cartridges with their new printers, with only a few hundred pages worth of ink inside.

Not sure if it generally applies, but years ago HP were also geoblocking their ink cartridges. A legitimate HP cartridge bought in Asia would not work with an Australian bought printer. Then there's their old trick of reporting the cartridge as empty when there was still 10% to 20% of ink remaining.

You are correct about the starter cartridges. I laugh when people use this exact argument to justify not buying new ink and buy a new printer with a cartridge with limited ink. They are throwing their money away when the buy a new printer when they can buy a brand new cartridge for cheaper that will last for 500+ pages instead of maybe 50-100 when buying a new printer.

 

[CraigT]

I've had my HP Officejet 8600 for 7 years now, use it every day, never had a problem with it.
Everything works the way it's supposed to. The printing, scanning and faxing works flawlessly.
I get the impression that people who have problems with their equipment don't bother to read
the owners manual, or set it up wrong.

 

[Someone8MyPosts]

Ban away. It'll only strengthen my resolve to buy someone else's product.

 

[alexnode]

Yep, I will never buy an HP product again. We had so much trouble with our last HP, went with Epson and havent had an issue since.

Me too I bought a brother one (with an a3 slot) ... and it works perfectly fine. Never HP again... I had officejet pro 8000 something and to replace the ink I needed £100 ! I bought some non HP inks and then after the previous update it started saying that the inks had problems then the printing head couldn't print ... they remotely bricked my printer. NEVER HP

 

[Joe Blow]

They're just doing what's right for their shareholders.

 

[turismozilla]

In my experience, Brother is about the only brand that doesn't fnck you in the @$$.