Over the years I have really liked and owned several HP printing products, in particular, their AiO printing devices. That's actually the problem. HP does make some good stuff. But over those same years, I have really disliked HP's greedy, anti-consumer policies - many of which were mentioned in that article. My worry is, we have been here before. That is, HP institutes some policy (often around their genuine vs 3rd party inks and toners) that clearly is designed to limit user options and increase their profits at our expense. Then after several years of consumer complaints, typically followed by threats from lawsuits and actions by various government consumer protection agencies, they drop that policy - for awhile. That's business and I get that. And for sure, the printing device competition is fierce. I get that too. And in all fairness, all the printing device makers have or have had similar policies. But HP has a history of taking it to the extreme. I am just saying, while this is good news, I have no doubts HP has something else up their sleeve designed to limit our options to increase their profits. And once the dust settles this time, they will institute a new, anti-consumer policy and the vicious cycle with begin again. Caveat emptor.
If they didn't charge so much for ink none of this would be necessary. Per this site: Gas Prices vs Ink Prices: Would You Pay $300 For A Full Tank Of Gas? | Bizspiration (inkjets.com)
I agree. The problem there is those inks really are some very high-tech stuff. HP, Epson, Brother and the others make their inks using specific and patented formulas with very tight controls for consistency batch after batch. It is critical for there to be consistency in viscosity, how fast it dries, how it is absorbed by and how it bleeds (or doesn't bleed) into the paper, color accuracy and more. The problem with 3rd party ink is a total lack of consistency. Not just between the various makers of 3rd party inks, but even between batches from the same maker. HP, Epson, Brother and the others guarantee their genuine inks will be consistent and will not damage their printers. Because they have no control over the production or the materials used in 3rd party inks, they cannot make such guarantees when 3rd party inks are used. So I get and accept higher prices for genuine inks. But I agree with everyone else (except the printer makers) and feel they charge WAY too much for that ink. Another problem, as I mentioned above is the competition between the printer makers is fierce. I mean you can buy an Epson All-in-One for $60 with free delivery. I doubt Epson is making much if any profit on that, not when Canon has one for $51. Those are almost "disposable" prices - run out of ink, buy a new printer. Where else can they turn a profit but in ink? I think one area that would be a win-win for consumers and the printer makers is if they would use one model cartridge for each of their printing devices. And it would be REALLY great if all the makers would come up with an industry standard cartridge for each of the primary colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and photo black. But I guess that makes too much sense.
