techspot HP class-action lawsuit for bricking all-in-one printers when ink is low

[UltraMega]

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A federal judge has ruled that HP will have to face a class-action lawsuit accusing them of intentionally disabling scanning and faxing features on its all-in-one printers when the ink runs low. If substantiated, this would be just another tactic the company has used to push costly ink cartridges onto its customers.
 

Companies like HP and Canon market inkjet printers using the razor-and-blade model. They offer the printers at relatively low prices while making significant profits from the sales of expensive ink cartridges. Consumer Reports suggests that these cartridges can cost users as much as $70 annually. Those attempting to economize by purchasing more affordable third-party cartridges or by refilling their used ones often encounter various restrictive measures, and these practices have landed HP in trouble with regulators worldwide.

HP will face class-action for bricking all-in-one printers when ink is low

WWW.TECHSPOT.COM

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A federal judge has ruled that HP will have to face a class-action lawsuit accusing them of intentionally disabling scanning and faxing features on its all-in-one printers...

 

I started telling customers to avoid HP printers when they started requiring the HP Smart app for lower end models. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by UltraMega

[Snakecharmed]

My second and third printers were the HP DeskJet 560C and 895Cxi. Even then, ink seemed kind of pricey, but that was before the days of ink DRM. I honestly don't remember what led me to get rid of the 895Cxi (probably high ink prices), but I do remember buying OEM HP ink cartridges that had banding and spotty output if they were "expired". After getting 3-4 of them in a row, I took a hammer to the last one of those out of spite and somehow, I still have a photo of it from 2005 saved on my hard drive.

 

 

I was done with HP after that and done with inkjet printers altogether one printer later (a Canon that pissed away excessive ink every startup and eventually threw me a ridiculous printhead error where a replacement would have, in car insurance terms, totaled the printer).

 

Inkjets suck in general. As for HP, it's not the 1990s anymore which was when they last made a good printer, laser or inkjet. I don't think anything they've made (or rebadged) in the last 20 years was worth owning compared to their competition because of their blatantly anti-consumer tactics. I'm not remotely surprised they would pull this crap with an all-in-one printer when not using a printing function. It's been in their DNA for decades. I'm pretty sure they pioneered ink DRM.

 

Side note: I remember years ago a former coworker was an HP superfan (yeah, they exist) and an even bigger Samsung superfan. He bought an HP for his first SSD, and all I could think was, "You bought an HP SSD instead of a Samsung? WTH is wrong with you?"

Edited August 18, 2023 by Snakecharmed

[Mr. Fox]

I generally avoid buying anything from HP or Dell other than their business-class notebooks (Precision and Elitebook turdbooks) and I avoid throwing money away on disposable laptop garbage in general to the greatest extent possible. I recommend desktops over laptops to anyone that asks, and I agree with the advice to avoid HP inkjet printers. I stopped buying HP inkjets around 2005 as well. Glad to see they might be getting what they deserve for selling rubbish. Their consumer desktops are also garbage, unfortunately. They did not used to be. Once upon a time they were a fairly decent brand.

I switched to Epson Workforce printers (my last one held up for more ten years) and I replaced that one with an ET-3850 EcoTank. EcoTank seems like the way to go. No complaints so far. It does a nice job and holds a ton if inexpensive ink.

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Mr. Fox

[ENTERPRISE]

It is a real &*^%$ up situation to put consumers in and I think this is what HP deserves and they 100% should lose the case.

[Snakecharmed]

I've heard good things about Epson EcoTank printers if you need the fine detail and rich color photo quality that an inkjet can deliver. For anything else, laser or LED is the way to go.

 

I print things so rarely these days that it makes no sense for me to bother with inkjets anymore. I most frequently print shipping labels, and even that only happens perhaps once a month on average. If I have photos to print on paper, sending them to my local Walgreens is more economical and I don't need to be the one fine-tuning printer settings and wasting ink and paper with test prints.

 

HP is trying to prop up a dying sector of the computer peripherals market. We simply don't print stuff like we used to and they need to adapt rather than antagonize those who still need all-in-one printers for daily use. Those consumers will have other options if you try to screw them. The bean counters at HP haven't learned a thing from every other DRM scheme that has failed miserably, and they don't even have the market position to strongarm their customers into their walled garden.

 

If you don't want to get dunked on by your device sales, stop offering the hardware at $100. There is too much going on inside of that box for it to be worth so little, no matter how far economies of scale and advancement of technology have taken us in the last two decades. My old DeskJet 560C cost, what, probably $500-600 in 1995? A LaserJet 4 retailed for around $2000 back in its day.

 

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"Think of the original price tag of a printer more like a down payment," Sulin says. "You're still expected to make periodic payments over the course of ownership."

 

According to IHS Markit, a global information provider, the cost to build a printer is higher than the retail price of most—if not all—consumer printers.

 

Consider the CR Recommended $70 HP Envy 4520 all-in-one printer. IHS estimates the manufacturing cost of the printer to be about $120.

 

HP declined to comment on the cost calculation.

 

IHS says it created the estimate by disassembling the printer and tallying the price of every component, including the monochrome display, enclosure, the included cartridge, the scanning window glass, image sensor, and so on.

 

The $120 figure doesn't include research and development and post-manufacturing costs, such as shipping.

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WWW.CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Snakecharmed

[ENTERPRISE]

23 hours ago, Snakecharmed said:

I've heard good things about Epson EcoTank printers if you need the fine detail and rich color photo quality that an inkjet can deliver. For anything else, laser or LED is the way to go.

 

I print things so rarely these days that it makes no sense for me to bother with inkjets anymore. I most frequently print shipping labels, and even that only happens perhaps once a month on average. If I have photos to print on paper, sending them to my local Walgreens is more economical and I don't need to be the one fine-tuning printer settings and wasting ink and paper with test prints.

 

HP is trying to prop up a dying sector of the computer peripherals market. We simply don't print stuff like we used to and they need to adapt rather than antagonize those who still need all-in-one printers for daily use. Those consumers will have other options if you try to screw them. The bean counters at HP haven't learned a thing from every other DRM scheme that has failed miserably, and they don't even have the market position to strongarm their customers into their walled garden.

 

If you don't want to get dunked on by your device sales, stop offering the hardware at $100. There is too much going on inside of that box for it to be worth so little, no matter how far economies of scale and advancement of technology have taken us in the last two decades. My old DeskJet 560C cost, what, probably $500-600 in 1995? A LaserJet 4 retailed for around $2000 back in its day.

 

ERROR: The request could not be satisfied

WWW.CONSUMERREPORTS.ORG

 

 

I agree, I despise inkjet, they are just so un-economic to run and maintain. If you are a seldom printer like I am inkjets dry up in 5 mins and clog and then they are never the same again frankly. So even though I am a seldom printer, a year back I splashed cash on a Laser printer and could not be happier. Quality is excellent and I can use it sporadically without worrying that it may just decide not to print because it has dried up lol