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.
If a third-party ink cart can introduce a “cyber threat,” your unbelievably shoddy firmware would be the problem, you disingenuous Hamburglars.
Nobody buys HP anymore , HP stands for Has Problems
Yeah, the problem is that they’re anti-consumer.
I thought it stood for Horrible Product.
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.
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…
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.
Good, it’s about time
From the article:
According to the GEC’s published criteria, printer vendors have three compliance paths. They can avoid firmware changes that disable remanufactured cartridges, offer approved cartridge solutions that maintain device functionality, or make remanufactured options available for purchase through their own channels. Each route is meant to encourage a model in which printing components are reused rather than discarded.
So far, more than 38,000 products remain listed under the older EPEAT 1.0 registry, while only 163 have transitioned to the new 2.0 standard – none of them printers.
It’s not binding. Maybe articles like this one will shame hp into stopping that bs one day ☀️ (only joking)
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!
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
Never buy HP! Never! They are scum!
Time for a small fine
HP: “just some business cost.”
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.
Next step: When a 3rd party cartridge is detected HP will degrade print quality just enough to make them unusable while blaming the cartridge manufacturers for the problem.
Stop giving them ideas!
They probably have a team of idea finders scouring the fediverse as we speak! Am I joking? Who knows.
Yeah, the colors will always be off in a random direction in the RGB spectrum, this is easy to blame on the cartridge manufacturer
Hp printer is in my banned list for decades already.
Global sustainability rules???
One reason I have no printer anymore… this fucking ink scam.
Me too - the print shop can deal with the issues, i have no problem paying a little extra for not having the headache of troubleshooting printer crap. Although I might get myself a B/W Brother printer for the everyday stuff - my ex sadly got my old one.
I have a Brother color laser - was cheap and it just works.
I know that they are fine - but i haven’t had the need for color prints for ages now outside of 2 occasions where i needed like 5 copies each. For myself i prefer digital only either way. Just in case i really need something like return tickets a b&w printer is enough.
The B&W one costs under 100€, the cheapest brother color laser 300€; the 200€ difference should last decades in the print shop, and the toner cartridges are a lot cheaper for b&w only.
Switch to laser and that problem goes away.
Yes, but a good color laser printer is expensive and still not as good as an ink printer for photo printing. So, a laser printer is just a compromise.
I can print for free on a monochrome laser printer in my office. If I need high-quality photos, I order them online. Problem solved… bye, HP!
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!
It isn’t just third party ink.
They block their own damn cartridges from being used in their own damn printers if that cartridge has been used in another printer.
They also block it if a cartridge was purchased through their subscription plan and you no longer subscribe.
Wow you have to really suck for the joke certification EPEAT to be mad at you. It’s a fake label that manufactures control to greenwash unrepairable garbage.
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.
