Big mistake - updating HP printer software

[aferris2]

All my gear is HP (not sauce), pooter, printer, external storage, etc, and I don't find HP refills all that bad. Certainly they last better than the generic stuff, which offsets things a little. Im guessing perhaps your printer is a little more upmarket than my injkjet job?

We used to have an HP inkjet (2 actually). One was cheap and the paper feed gave up after a couple of years. The other was more expensive and the touch screen gave up far too quickly (not sure, could have been about 4 or 5 years). No chance of getting a replacement part, so it went down to the tip.
Decided to move over to laser because of the amount of ink we were squirting into the innards to clear blockages. This one (laserjet MFP M281) has been a great piece of kit so far, but paying over £450 for a new set of cartridges is taking the pi$$.
I remember getting one of the first HP inkjet printers and that was absolutely fantastic compared to the dot matrix printers. I think it lasted around 15 years before the cogs and rollers wore out and had to be retired.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I would love to know how you can be sure that a printer will accept 3rd party cartridges BEFORE you have actually bought the thing

In all seriousness I do use "non HP approved" ink in my office jet pro, even though I don't even have to pay for the ink (it's on expenses). It's robbery otherwise.
I use Catridgesave.co.uk, they guarantee that their refurbished HP cartridges will work in HP printers. And they do.

 

[aferris2]

In all seriousness I do use "non HP approved" ink in my office jet pro, even though I don't even have to pay for the ink (it's on expenses). It's robbery otherwise.
I use Catridgesave.co.uk, they guarantee that their refurbished HP cartridges will work in HP printers. And they do.

I think that's guaranteed to work ... until HP upgrades the software.
The non approved ones that I bought in November did work ... until the upgrade.
I'm not sure how you stand if a non-reversable software upgrade turns "working" into "not working" when the cartridges are half empty.

 

[oldwheels]

Epson are just as bad. The scanner I had in my last printer/scanner was really good but it won't even scan if it thinks any of the ink cartridges are empty. (They aren't empty, but printer says they are). So yet more junk to landfill as it was cheaper to get a new printer/scanner than refill the old one.

I have an Epson and a MacBook, IPad and IPhone. I foolishly upgraded the MacBook to the latest software
[ Big Sur]. Now the printer will not respond to the laptop as Epson have not updated their software.
Looking at google on this and there are many unhappy people who have done the same. There are supposed to be fixes but nothing I fancy trying. Easiest thing was to buy another printer and keep the old one for scanning until the ink runs out then junk.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I think that's guaranteed to work ... until HP upgrades the software.
The non approved ones that I bought in November did work ... until the upgrade.
I'm not sure how you stand if a non-reversable software upgrade turns "working" into "not working" when the cartridges are half empty.

Ah I see. I don't really do updates to the printer I must admit, when it breaks or falls over I'll get a new one. Good point though.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

I defaulted to a bottom-of-the-range monochrome Brother laserwriter many years ago and bless the day I did it.

 

[Milkfloat]

I too killed off my multifunction inkjet printer as I spent more on ink unblocking the damn thing than I did printing, I used to get through a whole new printer every year. I bit the bullet and bought a Brother colour multifunction laser, a set of 4 compatible toner cartridges are about £30. The quality dropped a little with the compatibles, but printing is totally fine and best of all I don't have to mess around for 30 minutes unclogging it every time I want to print. I purchased Brother as they have the cheapest compatible replacement toners and drums.

 

[Tenkaykev]

My last couple of printers have been colour laser. When shopping for a printer I looked at as many reviews as possible. Any that didn’t have generic toner available were struck off the list and I ended up getting a Brother colour laser. It does automatic double sided printing and is wireless as well. I can print from my phone or laptop with ease. I recently replaced the toners and a set of four generic cartridges were £35 .

 

[vickster]

I have HP instant ink, £2 a month for 50 pages. They monitor and just send new cartridges as needed. Simple for £24 a year. Pro inkjet model

 

[alicat]

^^^^ yes, me too. I upgrade to more pages per month when I anticipate needing to do a lot of printing. It works well for me.

 

[aferris2]

I have HP instant ink, £2 a month for 50 pages. They monitor and just send new cartridges as needed. Simple for £24 a year. Pro inkjet model

That looks good! Had a quick look and it seems to be inkjet only. Might have a closer look next time I need to restock.

 

[vickster]

That looks good! Had a quick look and it seems to be inkjet only. Might have a closer look next time I need to restock.

Yeah might be. Not offered on all models but worth looking

 

[irw]

Am I the only one wondering why a printer needs an update anyway? Surely if it prints (and/or scans) out-of-the-box, then, to coin a phrase, it should just be a job for life? My printer/scanner is a fairly basic, but clever jobby (Epson XP-605), but I can't see any reason why I'd ever need to update it's firmware!

 

[lazybloke]

Canon g3500 here. Has large ink tanks for high volume photo printing (have got 3 people studying in this house, 2 of them are artists).
Pukka ink refills are from bottles and last ages.

Although like many inkjet ptrs the mechanism doesn't look robust

 

[DaveReading]

I bit the bullet and bought a Brother colour multifunction laser, a set of 4 compatible toner cartridges are about £30.

Do you mind if I ask which Brother printer you have ?

I ended up getting a Brother colour laser. It does automatic double sided printing and is wireless as well.

Your model too, please ?