HP Printers Ink Requirements Controversy

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. HP has faced legal actions 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
• Each replacement ink cartridge costs approximately $30

HP's response

HP initially declined to comment publicly on the issue, citing pending litigation.

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".

user asks on HP support forum why their scanner will not properly scan without ink

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

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."

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.

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. 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.

Consumer response

Consumers state that not only the ink levels are required, but that there are other practices regarding the ink levels. 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.