HP's ink-blocking firmware may violate new global sustainability rules

Submitted ⁨⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨throws_lemy@lemmy.nz⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.techspot.com/news/111672-hp-ink-blocking-firmware-clashes-new-global-sustainability.html

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.

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ayyy@sh.itjust.works ⁨53⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ 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.

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imacatnotaman@lemmy.ml ⁨1⁩ ⁨hour⁩ ago
I bought an open box color LaserJet from HP 10 years ago for ~$200. I’ve always bought 3rd party ink and never had any issues. HP will never get a dime from me for shit like this and that printer will last the rest of my life lol

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masterofn001@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨hours⁩ 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.

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SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
If a third-party ink cart can introduce a “cyber threat,” your unbelievably shoddy firmware would be the problem, you disingenuous Hamburglars.

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Eat_Your_Paisley@lemmy.world ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Good, it’s about time

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- A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ 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)
  
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atropa@piefed.social ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Nobody buys HP anymore , HP stands for Has Problems

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- W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I thought it stood for Horrible Product.
  
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- Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Yeah, the problem is that they’re anti-consumer.
  
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- 69420@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  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.
  
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- Bahnd@lemmy.world ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  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…
  
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- ozymandias117@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  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.
  
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daychilde@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
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!

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- chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  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.
  
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  - daychilde@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    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.
    
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- ickplant@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Give me Brother printers or give me death.
  
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  - daychilde@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Hmm. Not sure that’s a line I’m willing to draw… but they are certainly pretty decent. hehe
    
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rainbowbunny@slrpnk.net ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Time for a small fine

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- Sir_Simon_Spamalot@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  HP: “just some business cost.”
  
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trewq@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Hp printer is in my banned list for decades already.

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Jackhammer_Joe@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Never buy HP! Never! They are scum!

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mrmanager@lemmy.today ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I bought an HP printer once and im never doing that again. The best printers ive had has all been Brother.

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- stoly@lemmy.world ⁨30⁩ ⁨minutes⁩ ago
  The laser jets are actually fine for small office use. It’s the ink jets that you have to avoid.
  
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muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ 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.

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Tollana1234567@lemmy.today ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
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.

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TomMasz@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
It’s also rampant assholery, but that’s harder to legislate.

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- Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  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.
  
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lechekaflan@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
HUEY PACKA doing the usual enshittification.

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raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
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.

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robber@lemmy.ml ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Global sustainability rules???

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spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works ⁨23⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
HP’s next step: Degrade print quality just enough to make 3rd party cartridges unusable while blaming the cartridge manufacturers for the problem.

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- Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Stop giving them ideas!
  
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  - A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    They probably have a team of idea finders scouring the fediverse as we speak! Am I joking? Who knows.
    
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- Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Yeah, the colors will always be off in a random direction in the RGB spectrum, this is easy to blame on the cartridge manufacturer
  
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NarrativeBear@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ 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!

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heiligerbimbam@lemmy.wtf ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
One reason I have no printer anymore… this fucking ink scam.

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- W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Switch to laser and that problem goes away.
  
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  - heiligerbimbam@lemmy.wtf ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    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!
    
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- Wildmimic@anarchist.nexus ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  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.
  
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  - daychilde@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I have a Brother color laser - was cheap and it just works.
    
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EpicFailGuy@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Do yourselves a favor … lookup chipless firmware

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vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨22⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
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.

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- NinjaTurtle@feddit.online ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  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.
  
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  - vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Depends. If that printer were very expensive, the first part could be true, but they could make ink officially rechargeable, something like that.
    
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