HP Printers Ink Requirements Controversy: Difference between revisions
Start of incident article |
added citations and screenshots from HP's forum where an HP support agent says that the printer/scanner combo needs ink to work, and also uploaded/cited a PDF of it since archive.org doesn't always load that HP forum properly. |
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The core issue centers on HP's intentional design choice to disable all printer functionality when ink levels become low. Specifically: | The core issue centers on HP's intentional design choice to disable all printer functionality when ink levels become low. Specifically: | ||
* Printers enter an error state when any single ink cartridge runs low | *Printers enter an error state when any single ink cartridge runs low | ||
* Scanning and faxing capabilities are completely disabled despite not requiring ink | *Scanning and faxing capabilities are completely disabled despite not requiring ink | ||
* HP did not disclose this limitation in marketing materials<ref name=":1" /> | *HP did not disclose this limitation in marketing materials<ref name=":1" /> | ||
* Each replacement ink cartridge costs approximately $30<ref name=":1" /> | *Each replacement ink cartridge costs approximately $30<ref name=":1" /> | ||
===HP's response=== | ===HP's response=== | ||
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==Lawsuits== | ==Lawsuits== | ||
The case against HP states that this is a design flaw, and points to the advertising not disclosing it and instead calling the printers "convenient because you don’t have to buy a separate device for each task".<ref>https://www.classaction.org/media/freund-et-al-v-hp-inc.pdf</ref> | The case against HP states that this is a design flaw, and points to the advertising not disclosing it and instead calling the printers "convenient because you don’t have to buy a separate device for each task".<ref>https://www.classaction.org/media/freund-et-al-v-hp-inc.pdf</ref> | ||
[[File:HP support forum printer-scanner not scanning without ink.png|alt=user asks on HP support forum why their scanner will not properly scan without ink|thumb|user asks on HP support forum why their scanner will not properly scan without ink <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230811234030/https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/Scanning-without-a-working-ink-cartridge/td-p/6777739</ref>]] | |||
[[File:HP support rep says that the printer needs ink to work, ignoring the fact that the customer is asking about the SCANNER portion of the printer-scanner combo.png|alt=HP support rep says that the printer needs ink to work, ignoring the fact that the customer is asking about the SCANNER portion of the printer/scanner combo|thumb|HP support rep says that the printer needs ink to work, ignoring the fact that the customer is asking about the SCANNER portion of the printer/scanner combo <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230811234030/https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/Scanning-without-a-working-ink-cartridge/td-p/6777739</ref>]] | |||
=== Canon === | ==HP's official support response== | ||
In the now-archived official HP support forums, users were trying to scan documents; but they had low or damaged ink cartridges. HP's official representatives consistently confirmed that their printers are intentionally designed to prevent scanning when ink is low or missing. | |||
When users asked how to bypass error messages to perform scanning functions that technically do not require ink, HP support agents responded with statements such as: | |||
*"HP Printer is designed in such a way that with the empty cartridge or without the cartridge printer will not function."<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230811234030/https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/Scanning-without-a-working-ink-cartridge/td-p/6777739</ref> | |||
In one representative exchange from 2018, a user with a damaged black ink cartridge asked: "Is there a way to scan without having to purchase a new cartridge?" After they tried various workarounds suggested by HP support, another user with the same issue reported they remained "unable to bypass this error message" & explained they "urgently need to scan some documents" despite not needing to print. | |||
HP's support agent reiterated that bypassing this requirement was impossible, directing users only to purchase replacement cartridges regardless of whether printing functionality was needed.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20230811234030/https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/Scanning-without-a-working-ink-cartridge/td-p/6777739</ref> | |||
The support forum documentation confirms that HP's approach is a deliberate design choice rather than a technical limitation, as the scanning hardware does not use ink to function. | |||
They use the words "Printer is designed in such a way that with the empty cartridge printer will not function" with double meaning. This is technically a printer/scanner combo device: and a printer technically needs ink to work. They are not saying that the SCANNER will not work without ink, but by calling it a "printer" rather than a "printer/scanner" combo, they are avoiding saying the obviously contentious part out loud, while remaining factually correct in describing the customer's plight. | |||
===Canon=== | |||
[[Canon]] faced similar charges, but they settled privately.<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/11/23067867/canon-hp-class-action-lawsuit-scan-without-ink-settlement</ref> Canon's requires all ink tanks to be installed on certain all-in-one printer, and support instead prompts consumers to disable the function that detects ink levels if they want to scan with empty ink tanks.<ref name=":0" /> | [[Canon]] faced similar charges, but they settled privately.<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/11/23067867/canon-hp-class-action-lawsuit-scan-without-ink-settlement</ref> Canon's requires all ink tanks to be installed on certain all-in-one printer, and support instead prompts consumers to disable the function that detects ink levels if they want to scan with empty ink tanks.<ref name=":0" /> | ||