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AnonymousInactivePlanned Obsolesence Comes to Ink Cartridges
Some HP, Lexmark Cartridges Shut Down after a Predetermined time
February
, 2007 Many Hewlett Packard and Lexmark consumers with inkjet printers
may find that their ink cartridges are no longer working — not because
they are out of ink or because they’re broken, but rather, because the
manufacturers designed them to shut down after a certain amount of
time.ConsumerAffairs.Com has received a few complaints from consumers
who say their ink cartridges, although full of ink, just stopped
working.”I bought my HP ink 3 months ago, used it only twice and now my
printer ‘doesn’t detect a cartridge!'” wrote Helga of Clearwater, Fla.
“This is downright crooked. It should last for as long as there is ink
in it.”The majority of ink cartridges with timers are manufactured by
Hewlett Packard (HP) and Lexmark, said Alwin Morgenstern, chief
operating officer of freerecycling.com, a company that recycles ink
cartridges.A letter from “Beebo” to TheInquirer.net, a news website,
reported that when he purchased discounted and expired HP ink
cartridges, they wouldn’t work. When he tried to use them, a warning
would pop up saying the cartridges had expired.Beebo examined the
copper connector pins on his old cartridge and the new ones and found
that the new ones had one extra pin. He removed that pin and sure
enough, the cartridge printed fine.For years, the cartridges have had
suggested “sell by dates,” said HP’s senior ink and media scientist,
Nils Miller. But in 1999, HP installed chips on some cartridges that
communicate with the printer to tell it how long it has been since the
cartridge was manufactured and installed in the printer. After a
certain time, the printer will discontinue use of the cartridge.Miller
said it is a precautionary measure that prolongs the life of the
printer’s delicate ink plumbing.”We are trying to maintain control over
the interactions between the cartridge, ink delivery system and print
head,” Miller said.HP and Lexmark installed this timing mechanism
because many manufacturers began to move away from integrated ink
cartridges, that is, cartridges that contain the ink, the delivery
system and the print head all in one package. Instead, many printers
now have all those parts built into the printer rather than the
cartridge.With an integrated ink cartridge, those delicate parts were
replaced with each new cartridge.Miller said that over time, ink can
yield some sediment that could potentially clog the plumbing and the
print head and that is why there is a timer.Printers with built-in
plumbing are nothing new, Miller said. But in the past, they were
reserved for high end office machines that consumed larger quantities
of ink in shorter periods of time. Many printer manufacturers began
offering these same printers on the consumer level because the
cartridges have more room to hold more ink. Miller said HP followed
suit because of “market pressure.”The lifespan of many of HP’s and
Lexmark’s expiring ink cartridges is 54 months after they are
manufactured and 2.5 years after they are installed in the printer. A
few of the cartridges have shorter lifespans of three years and 18
months after the cartridge is installed in the printer.Morgenstern
charged that the forced expiration date is a ploy for the manufacturers
to make more money.”Most cartridges will work fine at least one to two
years after they expire,” Morgenstern said.Miller agreed saying that
it’s likely the cartridge would work fine after it expires.”It doesn’t
mean those cartridges are filled with sludge immediately after the
expiration date,” Miller said.But he said that HP has to be
conservative because it could be very expensive for consumers to
replace or repair parts in the printer.Miller said consumers should
strongly considered purchasing printers that utilize integrated ink
cartridges.”From an engineering and consumer point of view, integrated
ink cartridges are good for customers who use their printers
intermittently,” Miller said. “If you’re only going to use your printer
once a week and then go maybe five weeks without using it, that’s when
you would want integrated ink.”Miller said non-integrated ink
cartridges are good for consumers who use their printers regularly and
will go through the ink faster than it can expire because those
printers’ cartridges frequently have a larger reservoir.He also
suggested consumers avoid stockpiling ink cartridges but rather just
buy one or two at a time.Consumers whose cartridges expire will receive
no reimbursement, said Katie Neal, HP’s spokeswoman. Her only
suggestion was that consumers use the prepaid envelope that comes with
the cartridge and mail it back to HP so it can properly be recycled.If
consumers would like to receive some reimbursement for their expired
cartridge, they can send it to freerecycling.com where they will
receive as much as $3.60. For more information visit freerecycling.com. -
AuthorFebruary 15, 2007 at 12:38 PM
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