We seriously need a FOSS+FOSH printer
Brother accused of locking down third-party printer ink cartridges via forced firmware updates, removing older firmware versions from support portals
Submitted 3 months ago by misk@sopuli.xyz to technology@lemmy.world
Comments
MITM0@lemmy.world 3 months ago
hera@feddit.uk 3 months ago
It’s really surprising this doesn’t already exist. It’s such a hated piece of tech, I would have thought someome would have thought they could do better! I don’t know enough to do it myself but I’d sure as hell support a project to do it!
DesertHermit@lemmy.world 3 months ago
It’s not, though. Printers are actually fairly expensive to manufacture, and they’re sold heavily subsidized by the companies in order to sell you a decade of printer cartridges where you make up for that loss. It was the first tech subscription model.
If someone made and sold a shitty inkjet printer at cost, the last time I saw something written up on this years ago, it was several times more than the current cost of printers. And consumers are stupid, so they will go for the immediate cheap thing and get locked in to buying proprietary cartridges rather than invest in saving money long term.
What we need is a Graphine OS for existing printers. A repo of firmware updates that anyone can install to jailbreak a handfull of widely sold printers to allow printing every drop of ink, and DIY refills. Let’s be real, we’re not a huge part of their market, so IMO the gains are to exist like wolves preying on the occasional sheep, rather than be wolves that try to evolve thumbs and force everyone to learn how to cook and go shopping in order to eat.
Wispy2891@lemmy.world 3 months ago
It will cost too much because they can’t get back R&D money back via sales of proprietary ink and spare parts, plus competitors will immediately take advantage of your improvements
Like a prusa (open source 3d printer) costs like 3 bambulab (walled garden closed source 3d printer that uses a fork of prusa slicer)
bitjunkie@lemmy.world 3 months ago
In my experience, people who are aware of open source and the like are also people who only print something when they absolutely HAVE to.
MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
1000x this.
We’ve got all this figured out for 3D printers with all kinds of cool tools to make the job easier, and yet, take away a dimension and there’s crickets?
The hell?
Let’s make a 3D printable 2D printer.
MITM0@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Or a modular printer
Sanctus@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I think its time we deprecate most forms of printing. Clearly corporations cannot be trusted to operate these kinds of companies.
oyzmo@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Any brands left? 🤔😅
SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip 3 months ago
FedEx if you only need to print once in a blue moon…
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Or the library or office supply store.
AppearanceBoring9229@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
They were the last good guys :(
I guess it’s time to buy the printer I’ve been postponing
Ledericas@lemm.ee 3 months ago
try looking for laser jet printers, only use toner cartridge. Ink-based printers are pretty much scams. we spent an untold amount on ink for epson, until the printer failed completely
AppearanceBoring9229@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Sadly i need an ink printer. I already hace a laser one but sometimes i need to printer on papers that don’t work on laser
btaf45@lemmy.world 3 months ago
My general rule of thumb is that any software update has a 50% chance of making the software worse. So I don’t update anything without a good reason. That includes not just device updates but things like phone apps.
photonic_sorcerer@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 months ago
Keeping up-to-date with security updates is incredibly important.
knexcar@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I’ve never had an issue with viruses, I’m not a big company nor do I download sketchy files. I feel like if there’s something serious enough to affect me (like the iPhone Unicode character exploit), I’d hear about it.
commander@lemmings.world 3 months ago
areyouevenreal@lemm.ee 3 months ago
Yeah this is terrible from a security and usability point of view. Just stop using proprietary bs systems. Why do you think so many technical people use Linux and avoid IoT devices like the plague? So we don’t have to deal with companies doing stuff we don’t like without a choice.
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Oh, Brother.
dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 3 months ago
Drag thought Brother were supposed to be the makers of user friendly printers. Are they enshittifying?
ayyy@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
At least they aren’t transphobic.
Cocopanda@futurology.today 3 months ago
I too watched Louis Rossman’s YouTube video to author.
DFX4509B_2@lemmy.org 3 months ago
It’s going to get to the point where you might be better off going back to dot matrix if tank-based inkjet printers are somehow locked down via chemical DRM too.
redbr64@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Fuck I just got rid of my 2008 BW laser brother and bought a new one that hasn’t arrived. Thanks for the warning, at least I will be able to set my firewall before I even connect it to my network
BroBot9000@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Anyone know which ip addresses to block to stop the updates?
lemming741@lemmy.world 3 months ago
If you set the wrong gateway in the static IP settings or a reserved DHCP lease, it won’t be able to get out.
Scrollone@feddit.it 3 months ago
But will it be able to be reachable by other printers on the network?
elvith@feddit.org 3 months ago
Why? Does the printer need to be connected to the internet at all, if not for firmware upgrades? (Note: LAN != internet)
Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Many people use WiFi to connect to their printers for the sake of convenience
x4740N@lemm.ee 3 months ago
Buy an ecotank printer, they’re more expensive initially but that’s because they actually make you pay for the printer
Ecotank’s use liquid ink that you fill in tanks instead of cartridges
There’s no way they can check the ink on ecotank printers
wowwoweowza@lemmy.world 3 months ago
So… when there is some controversy over an article in Lemmy it gets the strike though? How did this evolve?
RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 3 months ago
If you read the article:
We are aware of the recent false claims suggesting that a Brother firmware update may have restricted the use of third-party ink cartridges. Please be assured that Brother firmware updates do not block the use of third-party ink in our machines.
So there’s no reason to leave an inflammatory and likely wrong title unchanged or otherwise without notation. The title is completely readable. I’m all for wrong information being flagged, and a strikethrough is a fine method of doing so.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
We don’t know if it’s wrong though, we just have a statement from the company claiming it is. Now it’s on the community to prove it.
It’s potentially wrong. I guess we’ll see in the coming weeks as people try to prove it one way or another.
wowwoweowza@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Totally agree. Just the first time I have seen the notation.
bss03@infosec.pub 3 months ago
I see editability as generally an improvement, especially since the older versions are still visible with a couple of clicks. Reddit titles are not editable. Tweets used to be uneditable; toots are.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
You can edit the title, so if you want to strike through it, go ahead.
tjOrb3n@discuss.tchncs.de 3 months ago
Are there more precise informations about affected firmware versions yet? Recently bought a refurbished laser printer and still have a brother toner, but my intent would be to buy aftermarket toners in future.
spooky2092@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 months ago
I fear the day my 2014 hp LaserJet dies. There won’t be a decent printer on the market…
MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee 3 months ago
They deny it was the firmware update. But not that something else has happened
I’ve had issues with colour but not B&W
NutWrench@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I’m only letting my latest Brother printer connect to my computer through the USB cable. No Internet connection at all.
dukatos@lemm.ee 3 months ago
RPi as a printer server, with the printer connected to its USB port. Use FreeBSD on RPi just to make sure…
harsh3466@lemmy.ml 3 months ago
Careful with that you though. I thought the same thing but someone pointed out in another thread that depending on your system, it may update the firmware over USB when you do system updates.
MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Buy an Epson EcoTank printer. My family owns three. You pay more for the printer but just dump in bottles of ink when they need refilling.
wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
Just make sure you schedule a test print every couple off weeks to prevent clogs, is a little wasteful but if you get aftermarket ink it’s cheap enough that is worth it, otherwise a new head will run you down around 50 bucks.
MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 3 months ago
They do require maintenance to keep them running smoothly. I’m fairly mechanically and technically capable so I can disconnect the head and run DA-2A through the mechanism to clean it out.
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 3 months ago
I just got an old HP inkjet that doesn’t care about reported ink levels and cheap ink bottles from AliExpress.
I print white on black because I have so much damn ink and nobody expects dark mode documents. Kinda funny when I take out a sheet of paper and have to dry it out. 120g/m² is absolutely the minimum when doing such crap though. Regular 80g/m² just wrinkles up and leaks through, although that’s also a property of dye ink vs pigment ink.
But I also lucked out on sales combined with coupons
ImageCurrently it’s €18.50, though for 0.5L (~1 pint) that’s still cheap. Honestly I am surprised I actually received that.
MapleEngineer@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Nice. We had one printer or another that required expensive ink cartridges before we got the Epson. I used to refill some cartridges but it was a pain. Now I just open a set of bottles and top up the tanks whenever it’s thirsty.
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 3 months ago
Haha, my crappy ass old HP printer still takes refills. No printer company shall ever see another cent of mine 😈
SavageCoconut@lemmy.world 3 months ago
My brother did what!?!?
match@pawb.social 3 months ago
Anyone have recommendations on thermal printers?
MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
Why thermal? Seems odd, but alright.
I recommend laser for just about everyone.
Don’t print much? Get a laser. Otherwise you’re ink will dry out and you’ll have to get new ink every time you want to print.
Print a lot? Laser. Super reliable, can do tens of thousands of sheets before there’s a problem, maybe more.
In fact, the only time I’d recommend an ink printer is for color accurate work like photo printing, and if you’re not using photo paper for it, then there’s not really much of a point, is there?
I used to think bubble jet/ink jet was the shit, then I started working in IT professionally and discovered the truth.
Just buy a laser printer folks. Don’t bother with all the rest of this shit. If you want/need inkjet, then you already know you need it and why. If you’re not sure, get a laser. You’ll pay wayyyyyy less on materials up keep it running
T156@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Dot matrix is also an option, if they neither want to bother with toner, nor inkjet.
boonhet@lemm.ee 3 months ago
Don’t print much? Get a laser. Otherwise your ink will dry out and you’ll have to get new ink every time you want to print.
I’ve literally never had this happen and I print so infrequently that if I have to buy a new cartridge, I’ll just… not print at home anymore. Is it really that common?
thermal_shock@lemmy.world 3 months ago
My client has a few dozen zebras. Reliable, but cost a little more up front. Some of theirs are 10+ years old, prints thousands of inventory labels a month off each one at each site.
T156@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Any particular reason for going thermal? Personally, I’d recomnend against them, since thermal paper is coated with BPA, and that can come off and might have health effects if ingested.
pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
I think it’s because thermal requires no ink.
scroll_responsibly@lemmy.sdf.org 3 months ago
MisanthropiCynic@lemm.ee 3 months ago
Someone needs to Luigi Brother’s CEO
werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I’m actually looking for a good multifunctional printer. Our Samsung is dying. It was an LED printer and we only changed toner 1 time in 15 years.
Treczoks@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Good that we did not buy a Brother printer.
AngryRobot@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Is this happening to toner for their laser printers too?
b_tr3e@feddit.org 3 months ago
OTOH, I’ve been using a HP laser printer for years and the last time I spent 40€ for toner was almost two years ago. Just stay away from shitty inksquirters or even shittier “multi-function-devices”. They are customer-rippoff devices without real use, nothing else. Honestly, if you think you need to print colorful, fuzzy pictures that will fade at the first streak of sunlight you probably had it coming.
chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world 3 months ago
This firmware update applies to laserjets. Not inkjets.
catloaf@lemm.ee 3 months ago
This isn’t true. It just means you have to do the registration manually.
This is scummy behavior for sure, but it’s also being exaggerated for clicks.