HP Finds Exciting New Way To DRM Printers (theverge.com) 97
An anonymous reader shares a report: Amazon's No. 1 bestselling printer is the HP Deskjet 2755e. It's not hard to see why. For just $85, you get a wireless color printer, scanner, and six months of free ink. It also comes with HP Plus, one of the most dastardly schemes Big Inkjet has ever unleashed. I'm not talking about how printers quietly waste their own ink, or pretend cartridges are empty when they're not, or lock out official cartridges from other regions. Heck, I'm not even talking about "Dynamic Security," the delightful feature where new HP firmware updates secretly contain malware that blocks batches of third-party cartridges while pretending to harden your printhead against hacks. No, the genius of HP's latest scheme is that it's hiding in plain sight, daring you to unwittingly sign away your rights. Take the free ink, and HP controls your printer for life.
First introduced in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, HP Plus was built around FOMO right from the start. You get just seven days to claim your free ink, starting the moment you plug a new printer into the wall. Act now, and it'll also extend your warranty a full year, give you an "Advanced HP Smart app," and plant trees on your behalf. Because why wouldn't you want to save the forest? Here's one reason, as detailed in a new complaint by the International Imaging Technology Council (IITC) that might turn into a false advertising fight: HP Plus comes with a firmware update that utterly removes your printer's ability to accept third-party ink. You have to buy "genuine" HP ink as long as you use the printer.
First introduced in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, HP Plus was built around FOMO right from the start. You get just seven days to claim your free ink, starting the moment you plug a new printer into the wall. Act now, and it'll also extend your warranty a full year, give you an "Advanced HP Smart app," and plant trees on your behalf. Because why wouldn't you want to save the forest? Here's one reason, as detailed in a new complaint by the International Imaging Technology Council (IITC) that might turn into a false advertising fight: HP Plus comes with a firmware update that utterly removes your printer's ability to accept third-party ink. You have to buy "genuine" HP ink as long as you use the printer.
Screw HP (Score:3, Funny)
monthly fee to print with an min and max pages (Score:4, Informative)
monthly fee to print with an min and max pages (as part of the ink level you are buying)
and there is an min level of monthly pages that you need to buy to be able to print at all.
also if you go over your max pages you can pay the overage fee or upgrade to an higher level.
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The bad guys win. (Score:5, Informative)
HP does evil things like this because it works. They rake it in on evil deeds like this. The community of people who care is so small that HP can safely ignore them.
I recommend the "Brother" line of printers, as they are reliable and don't contain any HP-style evil. I DON'T recommend getting angry at HP, because anger is an unhealthy emotion to hold on to, and your anger towards HP will not harm HP in any way whatsoever. Just buy Brother and move on.
Re:The bad guys win. (Score:5, Insightful)
I went from Brother to OKI (b/w laser), just as good, but OKI was on sale and I wanted one with Ethernet.
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Re:The bad guys win. Is ethernet a good thing? (Score:1)
I keep hearing about stuff (Including devices) connected to the cloud being hacked, used as zombies to engage in Denial of Service attacks etc. As somebody who used to program embedded systems, I'm skeptical these devices are tested much for network security. If I really needed a printer on my local network, I'd probably try to do it with a cheap little SBC (single board computer) connected via USB to the printer and let the SBC have the ethernet connection. Then I'd have more control over how the sethup
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Why would I connect a printer to the cloud? It is connected to my LAN and that is it.
Re:The bad guys win. (Score:5, Interesting)
I recommend the "Brother" line of printers, as they are reliable and don't contain any HP-style evil.
I beg to differ. I have a Brother all-in-one printer/scanner/FAX and the damn thing absolutely refuses to scan documents to PDF on a USB thumb drive if the ink cartridge is empty.
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I second Brother, but ONLY for their office laser printers. Their consumer line of ink sluggers ain't that much better than HP and Epson.
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I have a Brother inkjet and it works great. Setup didn't require a phone app (one is available and optional), it doesn't require an internet connection, I control when and whether to do firmware updates, it prints fine and scans fine.
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I've heard mixed reviews from consumer grade Brothers. Still heaps ahead of Epson, HP and the like, but it seems that even Brother starts to slip various bullshit into their consumer products.
The office printers remain clean, though.
Re:The bad guys win. (Score:4, Informative)
I recommend the "Brother" line of printers, as they are reliable and didn't contain any HP-style evil.
Fixed that for you: https://old.reddit.com/r/print... [reddit.com]
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I’ve had great luck with Brother Laser Printers except for one color one that died 3 weeks before the warranty.
No problem, I thought - they were super helpful up until asking me to read the serial numbers off of the toner cartridges and support came to a dead halt since the non-Brother cartridges “could be the source of the problem”
I was not going to run out and buy 4 new Brother cartridges to continue troubleshooting - that printer went into the trash.
TLDR; if you buy a Brother laser prin
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I wrote about HP four years ago, and they have gotten worse: https://productrevue.ca/index.... [productrevue.ca]
6 months of free ink? (Score:4, Insightful)
How the heck much ink are you guys using?
If you are printing so much that "6 months of free ink" sounds like a deal, then you probably either
1) need to reconsider how much you are currently printing, or
2) likely need a more high quality print setup that whatever home-office joke this thing is likely to be.
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A small business owner that is too stupid or stuck in their ways to ask basic business questions like "Maybe I can save some costs if I don't print out every email" deserves to be taken advantage of like this.
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Most likely the main victims—er, customers—would be small businesses...
No - "victims" is correct, as HP's real customers are its investors/shareholders (you know, the actual ones they're accountable to and actually care about).
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What I'm trying to figure out, is how they stop people from just junking the thing when the six months are up and getting a new one. Inkjet printers aren't exactly a buy-once-use-forever product. Is the six months' of free ink a one-tim
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Inkjets print mediocre quality photos. The little ones do that in a package that can sit on your desk and also print random other documents. The big ones come with their own floor stand and at that size the quality doesn't really matter as much.
If you've got one of the little ones, go to a department store with photofinishing like Walmart for your photos. They'll be higher quality and probably cheaper. If you're printing posters, printsho
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Judging by the numbers of relatively new inkjet printers and all-in-ones I see in dumpsters, I'm guessing quite a few people do this. And I can see why - I would guess $85 is about the cost of a set of replacement ink cartridges.
Also, unless you fish them out to salvage bits like stepper motors out of them, they are pretty useless. If they are in the trash, it's because they need new ink cartridges. Granted, if you replace the ink cartridges it'll probably work, but for the same money you can just buy a
News (Score:2)
Right from the article.."First introduced in 2020..."
Hardly news. Anyone who has been paying attention knows HP shit the bed when the original founders left.
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First bed-shitting: Bill Hewlett retires, Dave Packard dies, Carly (*spit*) replaces Lew Platt, and justifies HP's first mass layoff ever by making up a story that this was something Packard had wished for right before he died.
In other news, HP keeps shooting own feet (Score:3)
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Same here. I have a very affordable, very good b/w OKI laser with duplex and I had a very affordable, very good b/w Brother before.
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I just replaced a Brother printer that I'd bought new over 8 years ago. Not to mention the fact that the toner cart that came with the printer lasted me for nearly 1/2 of that time. When the printer finally refused to print without a new toner, I bought a 3rd party one that worked perfectly. After the 8+ years, this printer finally just stopped printing, and I replaced it with another Brother of the same/similar model. Oh and by the way, both of these printers were purchased for less than $100 each. Admiite
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The second thing I tell them, is that if they do genuinely need a printer at home, get a secondhand laser printer that used to be in an office somewhere and was replaced after 3-5 years on principle. The print quality is better. The toner costs only a little more t
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the toner doesn't go bad from old age
It does, at least for some models. There is a piece of soft plastic in contact with the drum, called "wiper blade", its purpose is to remove the unused toner from the drum. Over time, the plastic "sets" and does not properly contact the drum anymore. This can happen to a sealed cartridge, not just the one that was installed in the printer. A NOS cartridge may have already failed.
At least a NOS inkjet head seems to work just fine.
I have a laser printer, but use it rarely. It is still less hassle than going t
Recycle - and eeprom tricks (Score:2)
"It's not hard to see why" (Score:2)
Isn't this just a case of egg and chicken? They are only pricing the printer so low because they're ripping us on the DRM'd consumables. Properly proves DMCA is a scam.
Skip the ink-pissers (Score:1)
Get a laser, and one that does PostScript. I'd get mono laser, but colour laser does well enough to print your links blue and colour your bar charts and stuff. Maybe a little better than that too.
Get your photos printed professionally, unless you want to be your own professional photo printer, then get an Epson. Either an ecotank or with a CISS if you have the volume. You'll want an Epson anyway because that's the only one that doesn't heat the ink, so it'll stay vivid longer in sunlight. Or get one of tho
no postscript (Score:1)
On the risk of repeating myself... (Score:3)
Do not buy HP printers. Never, ever.
Re:On the risk of repeating myself... (Score:4, Insightful)
Also Samsung printers as they sold their printer business to HP. I had a decent Samsung printer and I use the past tense "had" even though I still have the printer. When they sold to HP, all support now goes to HP.
While Samsung printing/scanning software was not the best, it is terrible under HP. Drivers are a mess and functionality it used to have is gone or buggy. Scanning image == random crash. Scanning at the resolution the machine has on the original spec sheet is a nope as it downgrades it to half the resolution for no reason. Also forget about Linux support from HP.
As with all things HP, it requires a huge install of unneeded spyware—software just to get basic functionality. But of course you cannot load previous working software as it is now missing from the now defunct website. Thankfully I only need to print a few times a year.
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I eventually replaced it because it became impractical to maintain a computer with a parallel port. But any printer of similar vintage, would've had exactly the same problem.
But wait! There's more! (Score:5, Insightful)
Just a printing subscription. (Score:2)
What has happened to HP? (Score:3)
Re:What has happened to HP? (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, that's not the business they're in anymore, because it doesn't exist. The same small business today might buy, at most something like a Brother MFCâL8905CDW Business Color Laser which is $700 - 90% less than HP used to get.
what to buy (Score:2)
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People spend more on cable TV or cell phone bills than this. But want a printer that works for years at near zero reoccurring cost. I mean it's nice to want, but I think our consumer electronics expectations are a bit unrealistic.
Whipslash? (Score:1)
Mods can you please just ban rsilvergun’s troll?
It seems like the Slashdot administration is interested in preserving their investment but not really sure how to do that until shit gets way out of control. The guy’s username is a ToS violation as we can’t make account names to impersonate other users. Guy has an alt literally called Misinformation. He comes here ranting about trannies. covid denialism, and socialism. You think that’s going to help your advertisers attract their d
I like the service... does that make me bad? (Score:2)
I like that I don't have to think about when to get more ink (made that mistake many times). The price turns out to be cheaper than what we were paying before. I could care less if they disable third party ink because I want to use their service. I get that some might not want that though. For me though... the service has been working well. $5 a month is all I usually spend. Sometimes I will up that to $10 if I print more.
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Well if you enjoy getting ripped off then spend your money however you like.
Haven't changed the ink in years (Score:1)
IT Person Pro-Tip: Burn HP printers ending with e (Score:5, Informative)
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Even old HP printer models! (Score:2)
HP printers refuse to use USB cables these days for me. Even with my very old still working 8450 Photosmart in newer OSes (e.g., Windows 10 and macOS Big Sur) due to drivers. :(
What do you expect? (Score:1)
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The ONLY way that would be a fair deal is if HP made that crystal clear BEFORE you bought one of these "e" printers. Spell the deal out in PLAIN ENGLISH (not legalese) that in exchange for getting the printer at the listed price, you agree to only use HP branded consumables, the printer must be connected to the internet at all times, and not allow the purchase until/unless the buyer scrolls down the whole thing and then has a "agree" button to click.
Yeah, I KNOW this will NEVER EVER happen..
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What deal? Unless I am missing something no one that purchases these printers is signing a contract to continue to buy HP cartridges for the life of the printer.
If HP wants to actually make a deal for ink supply over printer lifetime then they can start offering actual signed contracts. Technical DRM solutions are aggravating, expensive, and eventually destroy the brand. Shrinkwrap/clickwrap licenses are unenforceable.
Consumers: This is not 2003 (Score:1)
HP doesn't sell you a printer, it sells you a printing service attached to HP equipment.
Think of it like commercial software (not FOSS)-- you don't own the software, you own a license to use it under T&C. If you thought this wasn't the case with your printer, you were mistaken.
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That's not what they sell you, but it is what they give you after deceiving you into believing it's a sale.
Why do people still by HP printers? (Score:2)
I get that it kind of made sense 5-10 years ago; it was the best thing on the market and reasonable price... and their habits were really only painful if you printed a lot or very little.
Today I don't understand why someone would get anything but a laser printer, preferrably Brother or a brand that doesn't try to constantly screw you over. When you need color, send it out.
Good strategy ... (Score:1)
dry toner (Score:1)
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It may be a stupid question, but why update the firmware on a printer at all. Unless there is some specific problem that can be solved by updating, why do it, especially if it makes the non-original cartridges to stop working.
I have a HP Professional Series Color 2500CM printer (inkjet). It is old enough that even Windows XP has a built-in driver. The print heads and ink cartridges have expiry dates (yeah, even if you don't use it, it "expires"). However, I noticed that the expiration dates only work if I u
At this point (Score:2)
Anyone choosing HP deserves whatever they get.
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The problem is that HP printers actually work. They work from pretty much any device, "driverless".
Brother's Linux drivers are a nightmare.
6 months of free ink? (Score:2)
What's the actual limit? Because 6 months of free ink for 85 bucks can actually be a bargain if you have a print shop.
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I'm 90% sure there is a limit... "Normal home use" number of pages but not sure how many.
Xerox (Score:2)
Bought a Xerox Phaser 6500N about 15 years ago. Five years ago the network board died so it's running via USB to a Raspberry Pi running Samba/Cups as as web server. I think I bought it on sale for $350. It just runs and runs and runs. A full set of 3rd party toner cartridges cost around $80 and lasts years. The minimalist drivers are still built-in to Windows, and don't require registration, or a subscription, or any of that garbage.
The only downside is that it's, relatively, a behemoth. About as big as a l
the real question ... (Score:3)
... is why anyone in their right mind would buy an inkjet printer over a laser printer.
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Just out of curiosity.... (Score:2)
What if the printer was FREE with the purchase of say... 1 year's worth of HP ink? Would most of us still have a problem with it?
Next up (Score:3)
Proprietary paper
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It's been done, and by HP ironically enough. http://hpmuseum.net/display_it... [hpmuseum.net] I had one for a bit and it required special paper or the results were terrible.
Who's currently the best Linux inkjet printer? (Score:2)
Clearly HP should no longer be on my approved list.
$85/6 months? (Score:2)
Get the printer, recycle it when the free ink runs out.
hard pass (Score:2)
HP == Hard Pass
Leverage the free ink (Score:2)
* I have not read the fine print of the HP Plus contract, so I don't know if there's some limit on the free ink de
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I think there is max number of pages and 500 pages may not really be 500 but be 500 based an % of the paper covered
Use the force... (Score:1)
Polaroid Camera (Score:2)
Back in the day, the camera itself was practically free. The film cartridges, however, were brutally expensive and not only could you only buy them from Polaroid, you couldn't even buy an "instant" camera from another manufacturer with its own film (Kodak tried and it was sued out of existence by Polaroid).
Still, if you wanted a nude of your girlfriend you plunked down the cash. It was the only game in town.
HP disabled the scanner because ink was low (Score:3)
This was at a critical moment a few days ago, trying to scan documents to send them off. Suddenly, the scanner starts throwing an error and halts. I'm in a hurry so I run through the previous issues that caused this - nothing, they're all good. But this issue is not relenting so I start troubleshooting with the HP software. It coyly reports that maybe the problem is the ink is low. Then the troubleshooting program hangs. Checking the ink reveals they are low, but green checkmarks indicate they're okay. Then the lightbulb went off - it's probably the ink. HP has disabled the scanner in my printer because the ink is low, even though the device is reporting it's fine. There are news stories of them releasing bastard updates to get more ink money.
So, I had to run out to the store, drop a cool Benjamin on ink cartridges - going to change them all because I don't have time for this - and lo and behold, after changing all the ink cartridges - and no other changes - the scanner starts functioning again.
I HAD moved away from HP printers, but I'd let my guard down and purchased this one after several years. This was a good reminder.
Epson Already Did This... (Score:1)
Epson has already been doing this for years, why is it news HP does it? HP is usually the forerunner in these sorts of things, sure. But, unfortunately their competitors have already beat them to the punch. At this point, home printing is becoming almost impossible without spending huge sums of money, so unless you're running a small printing business from home you're almost best off using one of those businesses to do a one-off print here and there.
neighborhood businessman comes to visit (Score:2)
If you don't print much it's a good deal. (Score:1)
Just buy older printers (Score:1)
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Yep. Flagship laser printers are tanks. The more expensive their initial acquisition cost was, the cheaper their cost per page and more available parts tend to be.
Cheap laser printers tended to be disposable.
Used flagship laser printers are the way to go.
Meh.. (Score:2)
Went with cheap to run mono laser printers and simply paid for colour printing elsewhere when I had to...about $20 so far.
The can continue to shoot themselves in the foot as often as they like, my feet and my wallet have been far away from that for over a decade.
I still have my... (Score:2)
I still have my Deskjet 550c. Yeah, I'm old. I'm surprised that's not the largest-selling model. I'm also surprised so many people even have printers at home. I can't remember the last time I needed to print something.