How often do you guys need to print anything anyway? When my last printer broke I just bought a dedicated scanner and have been going to my local library on the rare occasions when I need to print something. If you’re pissed off at HP (and other printer companies) for doing stuff like this, just ask yourself if you really need a printer at all. There’s a good chance you don’t.
I humbly think the reasons other people have to print something is none of your business. And your personal story is no one else’s. Many people, myself included, need to print stuff on a regular basis, for work, school or whatever. The post is not about that, but the scummy practices of a shitty company.
College students still need to print stuff, some more than others. Especially if you’re like me and the only way you can retain information is to take handwritten notes, physically highlight, and write in the margins. I don’t know why, but ebooks and PDFs just don’t stick in my brain. There’s a printer in my department, but not that convenient when you don’t live on campus, and the library charges you like you’re at a Kinkos.
I’m amazed that these printer companies feel they can pull this kind of shit though. You’d think they’d be doing everything they can to keep the 10 people who still need home printers and scanners.
The first issue was buying a cheap printer.
The second issue was buying cheap HP printer.
Buy brother or do your research. If it says on some page “No USB only wireless” just don’t buy it ffs!
Brother is no longer allowing 3rd party ink and toner too so do your research there as well.
Yes and no.
Allowed? Probably no 1st party vendor allows/wants it.
Can do? Yeah sure.
Will I get warranty for violating some kind of EULA (or some other equivalent) for using 3rd Party? Probably not.
As an IT helpdesk we usually just tell them to get 1st party as the toner is not that expensive for that volume and just eat it. At least they have warranty for the 11k of printed papers.
I’ve seen reviews saying that a firmware update stopped 3rd party ink/toner from working. Both myself and my mom have Brother printers that we love and have used for years. It’s disappointing and they’re great printers but I don’t want to pay a premium on toner/ink just because. But yeah, as @cerberus_cat said, refillable ink is good too if you need an ink jet printer but I don’t know why anyone would want ink over laser.
Or buy a printer that uses refillable ink, such as Epson Ecotank. No cartridges - no DRM.
It’s easier to read for understanding off of paper. Easier to mark up text and make notes. Easier to learn off of. The use and flexibility for learners and knowledge workers is still unchallenged.
Need to show proof of residency? Bring a copy of a utility bill (which is now paperless so I have to print it.) Make a change on my car or health insurance? Sure, I can wait a week for them to mail me a copy, or I can print a copy right now (because a family member lost theirs or needs to submit a copy for employment purposes.) “For faster service, please fill the documents out and bring them with to your appointment.” Not a requirement, but saves everyone time.
I used my printer weekly when my kids were in school, but now that they’re in their 20s I still find myself needing to print something every month or two. Sure, the 10 minute drive to the library is an option assuming I have the time to make the trip during their hours, and hoping it’s not the opposite direction of where I’m headed. The last printer I bought was a basic Brother color printer that I spent $30 for on sale. It does a solidly adequate job 6 years later.
YMMV with all these examples. There have been multiple times where I have emailed a utility bill or signed lease. My insurance has an online portal to change my car or house insurance (sorry I don’t have health insurance).
I get it though. This basically comes down to companies that suck and still use fax machines.
I mean the sticker has a peel up icon on the corner. They’re obviously not trying to hide this, they’re just pushing the user towards wifi.
Also a custom firmware bound by serial number ranges would be even cheaper than the sticker. Logic doesn’t hold up
You are absolutely correct.
It’s not very expensive not to populate the USB receptacle on the the PCB.
Sealing the hole in the case would be easy. You could have an removable insert in the case’s injection mold so there’s the option not to have the hole.
If they thought two case parts were too logistically complicated, or they already made the mold and don’t want to mill it out to make space for the insert, they could insert plastic plugs with permanent snaps.
If they really didn’t care, they could even just put they sticker over the hole in front of an unpopulated port.
HP tech here. Stay FAR away from any of their consumer-grade devices. They’re cheap, poorly built, and difficult for even HP techs to work on. Save your money and get something with better build quality.
Their business-class devices are okay, because most of those actually have decent build quality and are easily repaired. But stay away from their cheap devices, especially their printers (obviously).
Thanks for this, good to know. I’ve had nothing but problems with my HP and had many a day of wanting to schwing it out the window.
Any particular brand out there that’s still known for decent build quality? I feel wary of them all now.
Get an older version of the HP printers if you like that brand. I’ve had Officejets 6900 and 7500 and 8500 series. Cartridges still widely available and the printers accept mortification for external tanks. I only have the 7500 now in the wide format and it’s still going strong. Easy to maintain too. I do have a laser printer as well which I only use for b/w printing. Have had experience with fixing other brands in the past and by far the Brother is the most user friendly I guess. Epsons are okay and easy to find parts for.
I saw some Epson or Canon printers with ink tanks.
If I buy any printer for a >30-40% humidity environment it will be one of those.
If it’s mostly dry it will be a toner/laser based.
I’ve had a Brother laser printer for years now, never given me any issues.
Brother printers are still very decent and most importantly, not DRM ridden.
I love mine… third party toner is dirt cheap and the wireless printing actually works without a cloud service! Just make sure you update the firmware because some models ship with a bug where it won’t print after it’s been idle for a while.
I have two oki mc363’s (office and home).
Cost about $600, 6 years ago. Weighs about 30kg, must have a cast iron chassis or something.
Rock solid, great printer scanner in every way. Wouldn’t change a thing.
