Printer ink consumables are a big business for PC peripheral device makers. HP, which has a high market share in the printer market, discontinues Free Ink for Life, a plan that allows you to replenish ink for free up to 15 pages per month, and if you don’t pay $0.99 per month, even within 15 pages per month, the printer will function. Decided to stop. In response, the Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF released a statement containing anger.
Printer ink is a consumable that must be replenished, and from the perspective of peripheral device manufacturers, printer ink is liquid gold. EFF claims that the manufacturer’s intention is to induce a large quantity of ink to be consumed by quickly consuming ink, so that the printer is designed to consume a large amount of ink through a calibration test or to reduce the amount of ink contained in the cartridge. EFF also pointed out that in 2018 Epson downgraded its firmware to eliminate compatible ink cartridges.
HP launched HP InstantInk, a monthly paid subscription service that charges based on the number of pages you can print each month. It is a service that eliminates the need to deliberately buy ink by registering an account with a printer that supports HP Instant Ink, managing the number of copies and remaining amount online, and sending ink when ink is insufficient.
These HP Instant Inks had a Free Ink for Life Plan that allowed you to print up to 15 pages per month for free. However, according to the EFF, in October 2020, HP suddenly sent an email notifying of changes to the service content, saying that the 15-page monthly plan, which has been free so far, has to pay $0.99 per month. Printers are managed online, so if you don’t pay, you won’t be able to use them.
The EFF side emphasized the need for a printer by saying that home printers have become much more important during the Corona 19 period, and that students must pick and fill out school assignments and print documents or contracts. It is also sad that HP, which leads the printer industry, has turned into a wallet-sucking ink scammer for the use of technology to confiscate the value of the general public, and that worse than HP’s decline will be the many imitators that HP has triggered. It criticized the printer industry for prey on consumers. Related information can be found here .
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