HP Printers Ink Requirements Controversy: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:25, 22 February 2025

HP produces all-in-one printers, which are marketed as a complete solution for printing, scanning documents, and sending faxes. However, these printers enter an error state when the ink level in one of the cartridges is too low, disabling all functionalities—including scanning and faxing—even though these features do not require ink.^[1]^[2] HP has faced legal actions^[3]^[4] because it sells its products as all-in-one solutions but does not clearly disclose that ink is necessary to use any of the functionalities.

Background

Printer manufacturers often sell their printer hardware at a loss, knowing they will profit significantly from subsequent ink cartridge sales.

Requiring ink for scanning and faxing

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
Scanning and faxing capabilities are completely disabled despite not requiring ink
HP did not disclose this limitation in marketing materials^[3]
Each replacement ink cartridge costs approximately $30^[3]

HP's response

HP initially declined to comment publicly on the issue, citing pending litigation.^[5]

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".^[6]

Canon

Canon faced similar charges, but they settled privately.^[7] 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.^[1]

Consumer response

Consumers state that not only the ink levels are required, but that there are other practices regarding the ink levels.^[8] These range from cartridge DRM to ink sensors which are too sensitive, meaning they report empty ink too early with still ink present, causing waste with serious environmental concerns and additional consumer cost.

References

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/08/the-printers-that-require-ink-to-scan-and-fax/

[2] ttps://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/can-t-scan-due-to-low-ink-I-shouldn-t-need-ink-to-scan-a/td-p/8308292

[:1-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 https://www.classaction.org/blog/design-flaw-hp-printers-wont-scan-fax-when-ink-is-low-class-action-alleges

[4] ttps://regmedia.co.uk/2023/08/11/freund-hp-judge-order.pdf

[5] ttps://apnews.com/article/hp-printers-scanner-disabled-low-ink-9d8a0e3b5b49bb408467f7f75735ab0a

[6] ttps://www.classaction.org/media/freund-et-al-v-hp-inc.pdf

[7] ttps://www.theverge.com/2023/8/11/23067867/canon-hp-class-action-lawsuit-scan-without-ink-settlement

[8] ttps://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/1bd4ho3/hp_and_anticonsumer_practices_just_found_this_in/

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-{{Placeholder box|Short summary of the incident. Usually 2-3 sentences that summarize the contents or the article.}}
+[[HP]] produces all-in-one printers, which are marketed as a complete solution for printing, scanning documents, and sending faxes. However, these printers enter an error state when the ink level in one of the cartridges is too low, disabling all functionalities—including scanning and faxing—even though these features do not require ink.<ref name=":0">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/08/the-printers-that-require-ink-to-scan-and-fax/</ref><ref>https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/can-t-scan-due-to-low-ink-I-shouldn-t-need-ink-to-scan-a/td-p/8308292</ref> HP has faced legal actions<ref name=":1">https://www.classaction.org/blog/design-flaw-hp-printers-wont-scan-fax-when-ink-is-low-class-action-alleges</ref><ref>https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/08/11/freund-hp-judge-order.pdf</ref> because it sells its products as all-in-one solutions but does not clearly disclose that ink is necessary to use any of the functionalities.
-[[HP]] produces all-in-one printers, which are marketed as a complete solution for printing, scanning documents, and sending faxes. However, these printers enter an error state when the ink level in one of the cartridges is too low, disabling all functionalities—including scanning and faxing—even though these features do not require ink.<ref>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/08/the-printers-that-require-ink-to-scan-and-fax/</ref><ref>https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-Faxing-Copying/can-t-scan-due-to-low-ink-I-shouldn-t-need-ink-to-scan-a/td-p/8308292</ref> HP has faced legal actions<ref>https://regmedia.co.uk/2023/08/11/freund-hp-judge-order.pdf</ref> because it sells its products as all-in-one solutions but does not clearly disclose that ink is necessary to use any of the functionalities.
 ==Background==
-{{Placeholder box|Information about the product/service history to provide the necessary context surrounding the incident}}
+Printer manufacturers often sell their printer hardware at a loss, knowing they will profit significantly from subsequent ink cartridge sales.
-==[Incident]==
-{{Placeholder box|Change this section's title to be descriptive of the incident.
-Impartial and complete description of the events, including actions taken by the company, and the timeline of the incident coming to the public's attention.}}
+==Requiring ink for scanning and faxing==
+The core issue centers on HP's intentional design choice to disable all printer functionality when ink levels become low. Specifically:
-===[Company]'s response===
-{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add the proposed solution to the issues by the company.}}
-==Lawsuit==
-{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add any information regarding litigation around the incident here.
-===Claims===
+* Printers enter an error state when any single ink cartridge runs low
-Main claims of the suit.
+* Scanning and faxing capabilities are completely disabled despite not requiring ink
+* HP did not disclose this limitation in marketing materials<ref name=":1" />
+* Each replacement ink cartridge costs approximately $30<ref name=":1" />
-===Rebuttal===
+===HP's response===
-The response of the company or counterclaims.
+HP initially declined to comment publicly on the issue, citing pending litigation.<ref>https://apnews.com/article/hp-printers-scanner-disabled-low-ink-9d8a0e3b5b49bb408467f7f75735ab0a</ref>
+==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>
+=== 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" />
-===Outcome===
-The outcome of the suit, if any.}}
 ==Consumer response==
-{{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}}
+Consumers state that not only the ink levels are required, but that there are other practices regarding the ink levels.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/1bd4ho3/hp_and_anticonsumer_practices_just_found_this_in/</ref> These range from cartridge [[DRM]] to ink sensors which are too sensitive, meaning they report empty ink too early with still ink present, causing waste with serious environmental concerns and additional consumer cost.
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
 [[Category:HP Inc.]]
+[[Category:Lawsuits]]