Audible at five miles, painful at three and lethal at one
|
|
|
HP guns for printer ink competition
THE MAKER OF EXPENSIVE PRINTER INK, HP has is going after its cheap and cheerful rivals, claiming that they have nicked its technology.
HP has asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to have a look at some of the inkjet ink supplies and components that are being shipped to the Land of the Free.
The ITC has agreed to open an investigation into claims by HP that imports of some inkjet ink refills and cartridges infringe its patents. The complaint asks the ITC to issue an exclusion order and cease and desist orders that, if granted, will stop them from being imported into the US.
The products that have gotten HP's goat are made by Mipo, Mextec, Shanghai Angel Printer Supplies, Shenzhen Print Media, Zhuhai National Resources, Jingjie Imaging Products, Tatrix International, and Ourway Image. As you would expect from the names most of these outfits are in China. µ
Share this:
Share
HP has been incorporating more electronics into print cartridges for no other reason than to maintain ridiculous prices for common soy-based ink.
I hope that the logic of recent Copyright Office / Library of Congress decisions is emulated here, that when a company attempts to reap high profits from proprietary hardware tricks, it doesn't remove consumer rights, nor restrict other manufacturers from duplicating function.
I bought 2 AIO printers from HP to find that, shortly after my purchases, HP stopped making the 02 ink cartridges required by my printers. They have become impossible to find so I did, what for me, was the unthinkable: I refilled my original HP cartridges with third party ink. My printers told me they knew what I had done and my warranty would not be valid if I continued. They also told me I might be irreparably harming my printers......
Everything works great and the refills cost next to nothing.
I now feel that if someone has bought the printer then they have the right to use the ink of their choice.