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.
HP's ink-blocking firmware may violate new global sustainability rules
https://www.techspot.com/news/111672-hp-ink-blocking-firmware-clashes-new-global-sustainability.html
71 Comments
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world · 116 pts · 151d
If a third-party ink cart can introduce a "cyber threat," your unbelievably shoddy firmware would be the problem, you disingenuous Hamburglars.
atropa@piefed.social · 61 pts · 151d
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 151d
Yeah, the problem is that they're anti-consumer.
W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 19 pts · 151d
I thought it stood for Horrible Product.
69420@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 151d
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.
Bahnd@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 151d
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...
ozymandias117@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 151d
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.
andros_rex@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 150d
Made the mistake of buying a HP “gaming laptop.” The goddamn thing chugs if you have five browser tabs open.
Eat_Your_Paisley@lemmy.world · 55 pts · 151d
Good, it’s about time
A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 7 pts · 150d
From the article:
It's not binding. Maybe articles like this one will shame hp into stopping that bs one day ☀️ (only joking)
daychilde@lemmy.world · 47 pts · 151d
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!
chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 150d
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.
daychilde@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 150d
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.
chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 150d
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.
ickplant@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 151d
Give me Brother printers or give me death.
daychilde@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 151d
Hmm. Not sure that's a line I'm willing to draw… but they are certainly pretty decent. hehe
GreyEyedGhost@piefed.ca · 7 pts · 151d
Brother has also started down the proprietary toner road. Source.
trewq@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 150d
Damn it, didnt know this. Need to find another not shitty printer when my current printer decides to die later on
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 150d
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.
brbposting@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 149d
Didn’t expect this in my search results
(emphasis mine)
Was looking for a weekly cron script as an example of the ink drying issue being prevalent, but this is neat
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 2 pts · 149d
I know it's prevalent. I'm just surprised it never happened to me. Neither printer was a particularly high end model either.
pupbiru@aussie.zone · 1 pts · 150d
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
masterofn001@lemmy.ca · 17 pts · 150d
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.
Jackhammer_Joe@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 151d
Never buy HP! Never! They are scum!
rainbowbunny@slrpnk.net · 15 pts · 151d
Time for a small fine
Sir_Simon_Spamalot@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 150d
HP: "just some business cost."
TomMasz@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 151d
It's also rampant assholery, but that's harder to legislate.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus · 4 pts · 151d
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.
mrmanager@lemmy.today · 12 pts · 150d
I bought an HP printer once and im never doing that again. The best printers ive had has all been Brother.
ThisGuyThat@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 150d
Bought a brother B&W laser a decade ago. Just replaced the toner it came with, with extra toner I purchased at the time... It's a two pack, it may outlast me...
stoly@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 150d
The laser jets are actually fine for small office use. It’s the ink jets that you have to avoid.
PhoenixDog@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 150d
One of the only things I regret leaving my ex-fiance was our Brother Wifi Scanner/Printer. That thing was awesome.
imacatnotaman@lemmy.ml · 12 pts · 150d
LifeLikeLady@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 150d
Was given a HP LaserJet before 2020. It's been over 5 years. I have yet to replace toner in it. And I was given a BUNCH of toner for it. Injets are a joke.
imacatnotaman@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 150d
smeenz@lemmy.nz · 3 pts · 150d
A colour laser ?
Edit: Were you gifted a colour laser?
bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 149d
Color laser printers have been around for a while. Color quality is worse than an ink jet. So if you’re printing high quality photos, it’s not ideal. It’s good enough though and the other advantages of laser remain.
smeenz@lemmy.nz · 2 pts · 149d
You misunderstood my question. I was asking whether the laser printer was a colour one or not. I guess I could have been a bit clearer though.
Widdershins@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 150d
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.
boonhet@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 150d
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.
Widdershins@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 149d
It was what their mailer offers. One for me one for a friend. That or an equivalent microSD card. I got 128 gigs friend got 32. Either or more than enough for a quick print job. Both have a clear plastic shell which is probably cheap but it looks neat. Its "free" but the register rings it up as a penny. Not like I could bang out 128GB storage from the copper in one penny. I had already ordered a trackball mouse I just went over there to look at what they had while I could still change my mind. Walked out with an energy drink and the flash drive. Really broke the bank.
TacoSocks@infosec.pub · 2 pts · 149d
If it's one of the Inland Microcenter branded ones, I believe I've seen tests run on those and they have really short lifespans, just a handful of years. So just use it for file transfers and not for any long term storage.
Widdershins@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 149d
It doesn't say Inland on it but I got my penny's worth out of it already. To be quite honest I never had a flash drive until a few weeks ago. It made going to the library to print so much easier than logging into email there or owning and upkeeping a printer at home. By the time it craps out I'll have gotten another mailer. Thanks for the heads up though.
abcdqfr@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 150d
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.
trewq@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 150d
Hp printer is in my banned list for decades already.
spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 151d
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.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 151d
Stop giving them ideas!
A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip · 1 pts · 150d
They probably have a team of idea finders scouring the fediverse as we speak! Am I joking? Who knows.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus · 4 pts · 151d
Yeah, the colors will always be off in a random direction in the RGB spectrum, this is easy to blame on the cartridge manufacturer
ayyy@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 150d
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.
ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 150d
Just bust the printer mafia already!
nuko147@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 150d
The only reason I would buy an HP printer, is to sue them after.
Brummbaer@pawb.social · 8 pts · 149d
I got a cheap Xerox laser printer, the toner is cheap and lasts forever.
bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 149d
I still use a Brother laser printers, that’s at least 15 years old. Got it for free a decade ago. It just keeps printing.
HrabiaVulpes@europe.pub · 4 pts · 149d
I got ecotank, I can literally pour any ink I want inside and it works fine. Why would anyone buy HP?
MashedTech@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 149d
How are Xerox laser printers compared to other printers you used?
Brummbaer@pawb.social · 3 pts · 149d
It's a cheap Chinese made, it prints when I turn it on and that's like every two months for the last 3 years. So I guess it's good. I also only use it to print from linux or my phone.
NarrativeBear@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 151d
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!
muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 150d
New rule: printer cartridges, ink, paper, drums, or any supply needed to operate the device may not be sold with authentication features. The printer can not know any detail about what’s put into it aside from is or is not present. Done.
heiligerbimbam@lemmy.wtf · 5 pts · 151d
One reason I have no printer anymore.. this fucking ink scam.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus · 5 pts · 151d
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.
daychilde@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 151d
I have a Brother color laser - was cheap and it just works.
Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus · 3 pts · 151d
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.
W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 5 pts · 151d
Switch to laser and that problem goes away.
heiligerbimbam@lemmy.wtf · 1 pts · 150d
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!
robber@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 151d
Global sustainability rules???
raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 150d
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.
DupaCycki@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 149d
The moment you realize it's sometimes profitable for corporations to actively waste resources, it becomes clear that our current economic system is incompatible with environmental care.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 150d
EPSON is probably the second worst printer system. we use laser printer instead now. any expensive color pictures, words we need, we just go to a kiosk/print store to do it, or large number of pages at once.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org · 3 pts · 151d
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.
NinjaTurtle@feddit.online · 11 pts · 151d
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.
vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org · 1 pts · 150d
Depends. If that printer were very expensive, the first part could be true, but they could make ink officially rechargeable, something like that.
lechekaflan@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 150d
HUEY PACKA doing the usual enshittification.
EpicFailGuy@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 151d
Do yourselves a favor ... lookup chipless firmware