HP has discontinued its e-series LaserJet printers following widespread consumer dissatisfaction with the printers’ mandatory online connection of the HP+ scheme.
The decision, reported by German media outlet §, addresses growing frustration among users who have been forced to maintain a constant internet connection and use HP original ink and toner, with cheaper and more accessible third-party alternatives prohibited.
The LaserJet e-series models, identifiable by an ‘e’ suffix in their models names, now look to have been pulled from sale.
So rather than just push a super simple firmware update that disables the always online need, they’d rather just stop selling it, and probably brick these printers in a year or so when they discontinue the service.
Has hp ever done anything to suggest they give a shit about users beyond milking them for all they’re worth?
They did provide good first party Linux support where other printer required the use of hacky reverse engineered drivers. Other than that…
https://support.brother.com/g/b/faqend.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=dcpl2550dw_us&faqid=faq00100556_000
Both Brother and Samsung drivers are fine IMO, haven’t had any problems for 10 years at least with printer drivers on Linux.
And I stopped using HP already in the 90’s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_LaserJet_4
The HP LaserJet 4 (abbreviated sometimes to LJ4 or HP4) is a group of monochrome laser printers produced in the early to mid-1990s…
The LaserJet 4, especially the 4/4M/4+/4M+ models, have become known for their durability, mainly due to their reliable construction, as well as the printers built-in PCL (and optional PostScript) printer language support which is still used in computers to this day. Hewlett-Packard dominated the laser printing sector during this time in part due to their reliability, relatively affordable pricing, and the spread of LaserJet 4 models from personal use up to heavy business use.
Firmware update, means the printers keep working with third party ink (HP loses). Bricking them, means you must buy another printer (HP has a 50:50 chance to win).
I don’t think that’s how probability works.
It is how it works if you are told to make a PowerPoint for senior leadership on how to squeeze the most possible short term money out of this situation
Yup. And 100% risk of loss is worse than even 99% risk of loss to a boardroom.
What else ya’ got under that rock? Cuz’ these things brick themselves if you miss a monthly payment on your ink subscription.
Yes, the laser printer bricks itself if you miss a payment on your ink subscription…
Time to unlock my printer with an opensource firmware
popular
[citation needed]
I guess having a lot of unhappy customers implies that a lot of people previously purchased the product.
Very possible they sold well if people didn’t know about the requirement to be online.
I was beginning to think there was no limit to what consumers would take.
But apparently it’s just that there is ALMOST no limit, which is better but we remain in a sad state of lack of consumer awareness.Efficient free market economics requires something like perfect up-front information or zero switching cost to solve this. Those things are fictitious so, predictably, free market economics has not solved printer bullshit.
I’d like to see regulations addressing the up-front information aspect. If we require neon stickers for “needs account” “needs subscription” and “proprietary replacement parts” on all hardware products, people would be better able to dodge scams and cons like HP.
“Requires subscription. Monthly cost: $XX, total cost over 5y: $XXX” should do it
Or take the ad-supported option, where it prints out ads on your documents!
Ads for the toner, which they’re wasting because fuck you, and also ads to not use third party anything, lest you want the printer and your computer bricked.
You mean consumers aren’t both rational and omniscient?
“Popular”?
If it were popular they’d keep it…
They are popular since they cost less than non internet version. This is them removing the internet/subscription version that they were tricking people with.
They’re just calling it popular so that that one guy - you know, Craig? - that one guy who likes it will blame other people instead of HP themselves.
Just don’t buy HP. Problem solved.
Always beware of anyone trying to “provide users with a better experience”.
If it was popular, they’d fix the issue. It’s not popular, so they’re just trashing it, like nearly everything else that comes out of HP
So… not popular?
Sorry HP. You already sour’d me on everything you make.
When VARs call me if they do HP I tell them no. I won’t work with anything HP.
Internet: article on HP printers
Me:
You have have my LaserJet 5 when you can pry it from my cold, dead hands.
it’ll happen. had to give up a 4L because the toner got scarce–and rather expensive. pretty much nonexistent now.
and now we’re on our seventh printer since.
I’ve got a Canon printer & a Xerox scanner that will never be connected to the internet. the last printer I had that connected to the internet got the Office Space treatment when it wouldn’t let me scan something because it was low on cyan
That is beyond enraging. I’ve started doing way more research on things up front to maintain a stable blood pressure. Absolutely unacceptable.
Surprised no one.
Who tf needs a printer these days? I print maybe 5 pages a year and the library does it for a quarter.
Hi. It’s me. I still burn CDs and print onto them direct as part of a niche art hobby. Unfortunately that means owning an Epson inkjet printer.
The kind of people that can’t use an always online connected printer. But seriously, for some professions and shift to work from home during covid kind of made printers in a home more common again.
