Rumors of HP printers refusing service because customers are using non-HP ink cartridges are circulating once more. HP itself remains vague regarding this practice despite previous convictions.
The practice in question has existed since 2016 already and consists in the fact that following an update, HP printers warn, when you use an ink cartridge of another brand or when you refill it with an alternative ink (often less dear). In the past, this practice has earned HP a storm of protest from both customers and alternative ink suppliers.
Subsequently, HP lost several lawsuits in different countries. As a result, in 2016, an update rolled back a previous software update, in order to allow alternative ink cartridges once more.
Total blockage
But the practice has not gone away, it seems. On Reddit, a user reports that no more warnings are issued this time, but the printer suddenly refuses to print. It is not known since when exactly the practice is applied once more. Ars Technica has in any case found a similar complaint from late last year.
Concretely, it is Dynamic Security, a kind of quality control from HP, by which the ink cartridge incorporates a chip ensuring the authenticity of the ink contained therein. According to HP, this control ensures better quality and protects its intellectual property.
Informed customers
Ars Technica contacted HP regarding the practice, but was mostly pushed back to the Dynamic Security support page, which states that printers equipped with this technology may at any time refuse service, if the Cartridge used does not contain HP ink. HP adds that the presence of Dynamic Security is mentioned on the box and in the technical documentation. In addition, customers are also informed regarding this when purchasing.
This is technically correct, but a designation such as ‘Dynamic Security’ obviously does not explicitly indicate that your printer does not work, if you use a non-HP product, even if this product is perfectly suitable for an HP printer. .
Auto-protection
Also, there are really very few stories floating around regarding a printer using an alternative ink ‘totally going off the rails’ and secretly printing on its own, printing badly or does represent a security risk. In practice, therefore, the term ‘Security’ primarily means additional protection for HP itself.
A printer is a product that is sold perhaps every 10-15 years to a customer and therefore brings in very little. The profit recorded is therefore often on the ink cartridges which, depending on usage, are replaced every two months up to regarding every two years. In this regard, blocking is primarily a way for HP to prevent customers from switching to a cheaper alternative outside of HP and reducing the company’s profit margin on ink.