this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2026
749 points (99.3% liked)

Technology

82713 readers
3575 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

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.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] Brummbaer@pawb.social 8 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I got a cheap Xerox laser printer, the toner is cheap and lasts forever.

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 points 1 day ago

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 points 1 day ago (1 children)

How are Xerox laser printers compared to other printers you used?

[–] Brummbaer@pawb.social 3 points 1 day ago

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.

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

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.

[–] Widdershins@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

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 points 1 day ago (2 children)

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 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

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 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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 points 18 hours ago

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 points 1 day ago

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.

[–] nuko147@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

The only reason I would buy an HP printer, is to sue them after.

[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

Just bust the printer mafia already!

[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 days ago

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.

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 115 points 3 days ago

If a third-party ink cart can introduce a "cyber threat," your unbelievably shoddy firmware would be the problem, you disingenuous Hamburglars.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 days ago

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.

[–] atropa@piefed.social 60 points 3 days ago (6 children)

Nobody buys HP anymore , HP stands for Has Problems

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Made the mistake of buying a HP “gaming laptop.” The goddamn thing chugs if you have five browser tabs open.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago

Yeah, the problem is that they're anti-consumer.

[–] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 2 days ago

I thought it stood for Horrible Product.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] daychilde@lemmy.world 47 points 2 days ago (4 children)

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!

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Didn’t expect this in my search results

Inkjet printers are prone to clogging when they aren't used regularly. The print heads have microscopic nozzles that can dry out and block, leading to poor print quality, streaks, or missing colors. To keep them clear, it's essential to run a small amount of ink through them periodically.

InkjetStandby solves this problem with a simple, yearly solution. Each week, we provide a printable page with a tiny, multi-colour test pattern. The pattern is placed in a different position each week on a 52-grid layout, allowing you to use a single sheet of paper for an entire year. Just print the page, and you're done.

(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 points 1 day ago

I know it's prevalent. I'm just surprised it never happened to me. Neither printer was a particularly high end model either.

[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago (2 children)

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.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Give me Brother printers or give me death.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Eat_Your_Paisley@lemmy.world 55 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip 7 points 2 days ago

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)

[–] mrmanager@lemmy.today 12 points 2 days ago (3 children)

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 points 1 day ago

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...

[–] PhoenixDog@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

One of the only things I regret leaving my ex-fiance was our Brother Wifi Scanner/Printer. That thing was awesome.

[–] stoly@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

The laser jets are actually fine for small office use. It’s the ink jets that you have to avoid.

[–] trewq@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

Hp printer is in my banned list for decades already.

[–] rainbowbunny@slrpnk.net 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

HP: "just some business cost."

[–] Jackhammer_Joe@lemmy.world 16 points 2 days ago

Never buy HP! Never! They are scum!

[–] TomMasz@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It's also rampant assholery, but that's harder to legislate.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago

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.

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

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 points 2 days ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] NarrativeBear@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

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!

load more comments
view more: next ›