Murphy101 Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I think using ink for HP printers are an inner circle of hell. Wish I’d never bought this printer in 2021. I think it should be illegal. Ugh. Near occasion of sin dealing with this. It’s been a nightmare since day one dealing with the “free” ink subscription and then the not a chipped HP cartridge. This basicly turned my printer into useless scrap unless I throw away the ink I have and only ever buy via the subscription. To say I’m livid is an understatement. I think this practice should be totally illegal but alas TPTB enjoy the benefits. Anyhow. I want a 3 in 1 printer that can connect to Wi-Fi that I can put any ink that fits and does not require any chipped ink cartridges or ink subscription. Any suggestions? I’m about ready to chunk this headache out the window in frustration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I love my brother printer. We had a black and white printer and then upgraded a couple of years ago to color. It does copying and scanning. I am not sure what you mean by chipped -- I just find the compatible ink for the printer model and buy it on Amazon. We had HP for years and I have always hated them and found Brother to be much more reliable. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I really hate that they do this. Aside from the ink problem, they are basically disposable pieces of junk that fill up landfills as they cost as much to repair as to buy new, and I don’t even know where to take mine for repair. I will say that I have never purchased an ink subscription program, and I have gotten by (knock on wood) so far with that. However, I plan to buy a laser printer next time to hopefully make it a purchase that will last a long time. Do they do the crazy ink thing with laser printers, too? Maybe that would be a good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I agree about HP. They last until they suddenly break within two or three years. I haven’t had much luck with any brands, which is why I plan to just get a good laser printer because they seem to fare much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share Posted October 30, 2023 Mine isn’t broke. It’s worked just fine except that HP put a new software update out that means you MUST buy HP ink from HP that has a chip in it that the software recognizes or it won’t print at all - it’s basicly making my printer a hostage unless I pay up. The printer has worked just fine for years on generic ink. But I have to throw away the ink I bought and go buy HP ink or just throw away my printer bc it’s just a plastic brick without that magic chip acceptance. I think it should be illegal. They already lost a lawsuit over this back in 2019 iirc. But of course who the heck knows how long it will take to settle another lawsuit. what a waste of materials and money. And it’s generated nothing but bad PR too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 1 minute ago, Murphy101 said: Mine isn’t broke. It’s worked just fine except that HP put a new software update out that means you MUST buy HP ink from HP that has a chip in it that the software recognizes or it won’t print at all - it’s basicly making my printer a hostage unless I pay up. The printer has worked just fine for years on generic ink. But I have to throw away the ink I bought and go buy HP ink or just throw away my printer bc it’s just a plastic brick without that magic chip acceptance. I think it should be illegal. They already lost a lawsuit over this back in 2019 iirc. But of course who the heck knows how long it will take to settle another lawsuit. what a waste of materials and money. And it’s generated nothing but bad PR too. I agree. It would be no different if you put in generic ink and then they decided they didn’t like that and came to your house and smashed your printer with a hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 Listening in. Don’t go with Canon, that’s all I can say. We have a laser Canon with the same issues, and a Canon inkjet that is the bane of my existence. It’s so disappointing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
City Mouse Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) I tend to buy a printer when I find one on clearance at Walmart, so I’m not set on brands, but I do have an old Brother printer that works just fine. It is probably at least 10 yrs old; might even be closer to 15 yrs old and it does all the stuff even wireless printing. You might look at a local resale shop and see if there are any printers that would work for you. I am just guessing, but an older model might not need the chipped ink Edited October 30, 2023 by City Mouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) Brother. I had to replace a couple of years ago. I hate HP and Epson both. ETA: I only buy laser these days. Buy once, cry once. Edited October 30, 2023 by prairiewindmomma 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) I felt the same way abt HP and bought it at about the same time as you. It was a nightmare, but you can disable the subscription (recently did it after I stopped using it for 2 years) and buy HP ink ( Walmart is cheaper). I haven’t had time to see if Costco could fill in the cartridge. But at least now we can use the printer without having HP supervise our usage. Or Epson which I love! I got it from Costco shortly after the nightmare of HP. I have the ET-3760. And I like that we can get generic ink especially the ones I can fill the original cartridge on my own. ETA: your issue with HP it’s slightly different from mine but I’m probably going to reach your point soon. I really don’t use HP that much these days but I needed an extra printer. The problem is that HP printer is affordable but customers may not realize that they get you later on. Edited October 30, 2023 by crazyforlatin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brave Cat Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I love my Epson 3760 from Costco with the refillable ink wells instead of cartridges. It has worked well for us for several years and is still going strong. The printer cost more up front than my previous canon and hp, but the savings on ink has been significant. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTVKath Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 Brother laser printers have been great for us. We've had a couple of issues with compatible toner cartridges but have learned to never update the software. When we've had a generic toner cartridge that isn't recognized by the printer, we've contacted the ink supplier and they were able to ship us a replacement cartridge that worked. Full disclosure - I kept the empty starter OEM Brother cartridges in case I ever needed to use the chips off of those to fake out the machine....... But overall, mostly no problems with generic toner cartridges. We recently bought an Epson 4850 at Costco because I needed an inkjet machine and it works beautifully but I haven't had to refill those ink cartridges yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) Epson EcoTank! I replaced my HP with an Epson 4850 in May, and after 2 semesters of HEAVY printing, the starter ink is still more than half full. I used to go through a set of cartridges a month with the HP. Edited November 2, 2023 by Dmmetler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wisdomandtreasures Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 NOT the Epson Eco Tank 2760. Between stopping mid-print, faded images with lines, jams resulting in torn pages, etc it has wasted at least 5 full teams of paper in 2.5 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarita Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 I like my brother black and white. DH bought a canon color for photos, but if it were up to me I would just get the color stuff I need printed at a print shop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 I have an Epson Ecotank from Costco that I really like. I don’t like the App as well as HPs but it us functional. Im guessing most people don’t use the app so that may be a moot point for most. Been using it for 2 years of light printing and haven’t ran out of the ink it comes with yet. Bought it mid pandemic do the price was high but it has come down a bit now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 (edited) On 10/30/2023 at 2:14 PM, Spryte said: Listening in. Don’t go with Canon, that’s all I can say. We have a laser Canon with the same issues, and a Canon inkjet that is the bane of my existence. It’s so disappointing. I LOVE my Canon! It is a tank type printer (like ecotank) so maybe that is the difference? it was the easiest set up ever, even with my macbook and iphone and usually printers hate my macbook. And I can use generic ink, although in a year I've only added some black ink and that is it. Still have plenty of color ink left and ink isn't too expensive. Oh, and you can easily replace the "maintenance box" that collects ink waste - I know that was an issue with some tank style printers - once the maintenance box was full the whole printer was dead. With my Canon Maxify I was able to order a new box off of amazon - generic brand - for $14. On 10/30/2023 at 2:25 PM, prairiewindmomma said: Brother. I had to replace a couple of years ago. I hate HP and Epson both. ETA: I only buy laser these days. Buy once, cry once. Lol, I hated my brother printer. It was constantly losing connection to my computer, I'd have to walk over and manually turn it on and off, wouldn't want to scan to my computer, etc. Plus it turns out they are not rated for cardstock and by using cardstock I damaged the print head so it would only print properly on the "best" setting. My Canon Maxify is rated for card stock, thankfully. I do have an ecotank, and it was very easy to set up and communicates well with my laptop but it does clog if not used often enough, but that could be because I converted it to sublimation ink. Edited November 2, 2023 by ktgrok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted November 2, 2023 Share Posted November 2, 2023 I had so many problems with HP. And my brother was working for HP and kept offering us free printers. The printers were so bad that I turned them down even when they were free. Now I have a brother printer and I love it. It’s the cheapest basic one and it’s great. People here recommended in a few years ago and I really like it. It is still going all these years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted November 27, 2023 Author Share Posted November 27, 2023 The Eldon ecotank et-3850 is on sale at Costco and I’m thinking of getting it. any reviews on this model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 On 10/30/2023 at 1:52 PM, Indigo Blue said: I agree about HP. They last until they suddenly break within two or three years. I haven’t had much luck with any brands, which is why I plan to just get a good laser printer because they seem to fare much better. Y’all are worrying me. We have an HP Laser printer that’s at least 10 years old and it has been a workhorse. It’s showing signs of aging and we know we will have to replace it within the next couple of years. Do you have any insight as to if durability is an issue in ink jets or is it with all HP printers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indigo Blue Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 6 minutes ago, TechWife said: Y’all are worrying me. We have an HP Laser printer that’s at least 10 years old and it has been a workhorse. It’s showing signs of aging and we know we will have to replace it within the next couple of years. Do you have any insight as to if durability is an issue in ink jets or is it with all HP printers? I’m sorry. I wish I knew. I would think that being a laser, alone, would make it better. I consistently read that laser printers are better. It’s fantastic that you’re getting ten plus years with yours! They always seem to go at the absolute worst times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 We were not in the market for a printer because our 10 year old HP was working fine. It was old enough that the subscription bit wasn't an issue. However, lately it had been wonky and HP is no longer updating the drivers. Thanks to this thread we're now the owners of an Epson eco-tank 3850 from Costco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraw4321 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 I've had this one for 3 years and love it. https://www.costco.com/epson-ecotank-et-2850-special-edition-with-bonus-black-ink-bottle.product.100851752.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 1ds (engineer), and dh's colleague that has a printing business - Brother. I had my list narrowed down to six color laser all-in-one's (all brother), turned it over to dh (because he can be so picky), and he still hasn't ordered one . . .which means, we don't have a working color printer, or a working fax, and I can't print from my own computer . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 I have a Brother laser jet I got from a recommendation on here. I've had it 8 years and it's going strong and the best part the ink is so much cheaper and lasts so much longer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted November 27, 2023 Author Share Posted November 27, 2023 7 hours ago, TechWife said: Y’all are worrying me. We have an HP Laser printer that’s at least 10 years old and it has been a workhorse. It’s showing signs of aging and we know we will have to replace it within the next couple of years. Do you have any insight as to if durability is an issue in ink jets or is it with all HP printers? I will say I have had no durability issues. This one is iirc 4 years old and the previous one was 8 plus years old. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 31 minutes ago, Murphy101 said: I will say I have had no durability issues. This one is iirc 4 years old and the previous one was 8 plus years old. Same here. The only reason we replaced it is because HP was no longer supporting updates and without updates it was acting up. It gave us ten good years including ds' homeschooling high school years when I was printing a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 I got a Brother after havibg problems w HP. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 I have a Fuji docuprint and it’s been pretty good, no issues with generic toner etc. the only slight problem is wifi connectivity is a pain and sometimes I have to call support to get it sorted but their support people are fantastic. I have a feeling Fuji in Aus is somehow different to Fuji in America though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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