Glen Taylor writes: I enjoyed your recent articles on the cost of inkjet cartridges. I'd like to share my own insight into what has become a "scam" in my eyes.
I've been a big fan of HP products since 1989 when we bought our first laser printer (the LaserJet Series II) which is still being used. Anyway, I've gone through a succession of HP printers since then.
My current personal printer is the DeskJet 812C (very similar to the 842C currently heavily discounted in BC). Since I'm working from home now, I'm printing more and more, and the cost of ink cartridges is becoming prohibitive.
I read the article that observed that the cost per page of ink cartridges seems to be inversely proportional to the cost of the printer model. In other words, the cheaper the printer purchase price, the more expensive the ink cartridges (by ink volume) end up being.
So, I started checking around. My 812C takes a #15 HP black ink cartridge. It contains 25 ml of ink and sells for approximately C$44.99. It never goes on sale and it is never available in promotional '2' packs.
I realized that only a couple HP printers use this cartridge (Editor's note: actually, HP has been busy adding models to this "sucker" line). Most other HP printers use a #45 black ink cartridge. It contains 42 ml of ink (almost double the quantity) and sells for somewhere between C$38 ($75.99 for a '2' pack) and C$42.99 depending on the deal. This cartridge looks the same as the #15.
I asked HP if I can use the #45 in my printer and was told that the electronics and print head are different - it won't work.
Then, I bought an after market "Ink Again" refilled cartridge that claimed to be "double the ink" specifically for my 812C. They claimed it contained 42 ml of ink. I paid $49.99 ($8 more than the original HP #45) at London Drugs. I've never had any luck with refilled cartridges and this was no exception. Print quality was poor.
But I became suspicious when I noticed that one of the copper contacts on the Ink Again cartridge had been covered with tape. Also, it came with instructions to ignore any dialog boxes that said that the "wrong printer cartridge was installed". Now I'm really suspicious.
So I returned the after market cartridge and bought an HP #45 ink cartridge. I taped over the same contact and installed it in my 812C. It works perfectly!! And no error messages from the print driver.
So now I suspect that Ink Again is selling a refilled #45 cartridge (with the HP label cut away) with one contact covered, for the 812C printer for $8 to $14 more than the original thing from HP! My test seems to bear this out.
So, it's all a scam. Owners of 812C and 842C printers are being conned by HP to pay a higher price for cartridges that contain roughly half the ink. So far, I can't see any difference in print quality on my printer and have had no problems. I have not tried this with the contact uncovered.
I am using USB connection, so I have no two-way communication between the printer and the print driver. Don't know what would happen on an LPT port. Would the print driver refuse to print? (I doubt it - Ed.)
Here is a diagram that shows which contact to cover. 'X' marks the spot:
000 X00
000 000
000 000
000 000
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00
00 00
Please try this out yourself if you have access to an 842C or 812C printer. If it works for you too, spread the word! We've been ripped off long enough.
Glen C. Taylor
Coquitlam, BC
Editor's Note: We have verified that this technique works with the above-noted cartridges on these models, with the important caveats noted in the paragraph labeled "important," below. However, we have also received a few reports that this trick does not work. Many of the reports are from owners of 9x0 series printers. We posted a request on this page at that time, asking readers to try this trick with new cartridges (e.g., with a cartridge and/or printer purchased since Dec. 2002), and let us know if the trick still works. Happily, we've received dozens of positive reports from 8xx series owners since then. So, there's every indication that, if the technique described above doesn't work for you, it's probably because you're doing something wrong -- and not because HP has changed something to circumvent the use of these unauthorized cartridges. If you have updated information you think adds value to this report, please let us know.
Here's a summary of reports we've received:
Important: There is compelling evidence that print quality is reduced by blocking the electrical contact on the cartridge. In essence, some of the nozzle jets are turned off when the electrical contact is taped. Markus Wandel, the author of the article at http://wandel.ca/homepage/printer_ripoff.html mentions that this can be seen when a self test is performed. We are not aware of any other problems or issues that could affect reliability of the printer. (Thanks to Jef Horne for this link.)
See also: Markus Wandel's write-up of how these cartridges actually work. Elsewhere, Norm Lyon has posted some macro closeups of a colour print head on his page.
In what appears to be a separate issue, The Inquirer reports that some HP inkjet cartridges have built-in expiry dates.
Here's a snip from the Apr.29, 2003 report:
PRINTER GIANT HP has built in time limits for its inkjet printer cartridges which means machines may stop working even if the consumable has 75% ink let to go.
A corporate user who has an HP BusinessJet 2200C, an expensive model with separate ink cartridges and printer heads for black and CYM, said his printer stopped working earlier this week with the message: "Cyan Ink Cartridge has expired".
And that has led to the discovery that the only fix for this cunning consumables plan is to either set systems to dates in the past or, you guessed it, go change the cartridge or buy a new one.
HP has told him that the date printed on the ink cartridge is not the expiry date, and that is determined either by a cartridge being in the printer for 30 months, or the cartridge is 4.5 years old, whichever comes first.
The date on the cartridge, which you'd every reason to think was the expiry date if you didn't know, is 2.5 years after it was manufactured.
There are oblique references to this on the HP site. On this page, for example, one message runs "Cart near expiry". HP attempts to explain this away by saying "nearly expired" cartridges don't give "optimum" printer quality. They do, however, give optimum profits on the consumables.
Update: EPSON ALSO HAS BUILT-IN EXPIRY DATES...
It appears that it's not only Hewlett Packard that's monitoring inkjet cartridge refills because reports now indicate Epson also has a similar system. More on Epson's ink level monitoring chip @ The Inquirer...
For further reading:
Same old HP but different approach
Those independent suppliers of ink cartridges should know that their access to enjoying a free market enterprise, their product is in serious jeopardy of being denied access to all possible potential customers. As a user who prefers other suppliers of ink cartridges, it would seem that these companies in the recycled ink cartridge supply business are experiencing profit loses due to the anti-competitive strategies of ink suppliers like Hewlett Packard (HP). Because customers who use “other” ink cartridges in HP printers, they will find now that their ink cartridge is “not compatible“, and now forced to use a product, something they really do not want, having to purchase strictly HP ink cartridges. This I would think is just as serious, or more so, than my one problem.
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HP is at it again! HP is again setting up a policy of shutting down, at a predetermined time, to limit a consumers use of their HP printer. For my HP OfficeJet 5600 All-In-Series, I purchased from Kroger Food store a refill on 2/23/2010. As indicated it replaces the HP 27 Cartridge. Cartridge City brand. It is now April 17, 2010, and my printer has shut down from further use. With my previous HP printer, after a predetermined period the HP printer displayed a message informing me that my ink was low, and then shut down my printer from further use. Because of HP greed, this same procedure is being used, but with a different message. Now, after using my cartridge for 54 days HP came up with a different message, “printer cartridge not compatible…“, ending further use of my printer. HP now avoids using the word ink. Although ink is low but copies still at quality level, this was no reason for low ink to stop the printer from working, after pressing O.K. on the control panel.
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To prove my point, I just replaced my cartridge with the same exact store bought Cartridge City brand #27. Now the printer works again. If the cartridge #27 is the same, but is not compatible, why then does my printer now print? This is the same trick they pulled with the low ink message.
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The HP OfficeJet 5600 All-In-Series user guide describes the extent of the limited warranty. Hewlett-Packard (HP) warrants to the end-user customer that the HP warranty does not cover (3) “any other problems, including those that arise as a result of….
b. “…or supplies not provided or supported by HP”
c. “..operation outside of the products specification”
d. “….unauthorized modification or misuse.”
(9) tells me HP products may contain remanufactured parts, components, or materials equivalent to new in performance.
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The preceding warranty gives HP the right to shut down my printer and infringe on my right to the free use and choice in my preference of using a remanufactured cartridge. To close down Cartridge City 100% satisfaction guarantee of their product, and to discourage and destroy competition. What gives HP the right, after 54 days of cartridge use, to then tell me my “printer cartridge not compatible…” It’s not a low ink issue? You see it’s not the cartridge, but it is, continues, and will always be,… the INK! You saw what the warranty does not cover. But shutting down my computer, because the use of outside sources of remanufactured cartridges, are ink supplies “..not provided or supported by HP.”
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What is being said is, all other sources of recycled ink cartridges are not of HP standards, and will not allow their printers to operate, or give the consumer the free choice, to decide the ink quality choices in the use by a purchaser of an HP printer. In a 6/22/2006 Chicago Tribune article, “HP warns, Walgreens, Office Max on ink sales.” HP senior vice-president Pradeep Jotwani Stated, “They are using an ink that has specific chemicals or certain chemicals at certain levels that violate our formula for ink.” In other words, the world should run on only ink formulated on HP principals of what ink should be. That warning was to suppress, monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, and control the use of ink. To avoid the anti-trust issue, after a printer programmed predetermined time, you’ll receive a message, in order to shut down your printer, “printer cartridge not compatible…”
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From the HP cartridge informational inserts, “HP recycling program. HP offers an increasing number of product return and recycling programs in many countries/regions, as well as partnering with some of the largest electronic recycling centers throughout the world. HP also conserves resources by refurbishing and reselling some of it’s most popular products. It also states, “HP limited warranty… warranty does not cover empty or refilled products, or products that have been misused or tampered with.”
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O.K., I understand that. HP does not cover refilled products. So that I also understand, the warranty is on the HP ink cartridge, as noted by the warranty date. I can understand a cartridge being defective. But I don’t understand the refilled statement? If I purchased, or refilled an HP cartridge, I understand there is no warranty. But again why, after using my refilled remanufactured cartridge, under what specific technical conditions has HP determined after 54 days my printer cartridge not compatible?
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Previously, I received a HP Newsgram. They were telling me how I should only use HP ink cartridges. “With a 98% reliability rate, you’ll enjoy a hassle-free, worry-free, experience you won’t get from refurbished or refilled ink cartridges.” In other words, suggesting to me, and others, refurbished or refilled cartridges being available, can be used on HP printers. This of course is not entirely true, and intended only to fool the unsuspecting, and naïve, from finding out the HP printers will become inoperative after a predetermined use, even when ink supply and copy quality is not the issue.
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812C and HP45
This is 2010. I just found a 45 cartridge in my office drawer. I used the trick above with the tape, and it seemed to work! Only thing that happened is that for some reason I couldn't flip to Landscape mode, but that may be a different problem entirely.
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