HP misreads room, awkwardly brags about its “less hated” printers | Opinion: HP’s printer business practices have infuriated users for years.::Opinion: HP’s printer business practices have infuriated users for years.

  • nyan@lemmy.cafe
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    There was a time when they were good, but that time is long, long gone.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    Three short HP video ad campaigns detailed by Marketing Communication News include one with a customer supremely frustrated with his printer’s low ink warning.

    Despite this, HP has continued to roll out sudden disruptive firmware updates to add dynamic security to additional printer models.

    That happened earlier this year, when users reported that their previously functioning third-party ink wouldn’t work in their HP printer anymore.

    HP didn’t explain why dynamic security was suddenly necessary, nor did it warn users relying on their printers for work and other critical matters.

    CFO Marie Myers highlighted the business value of constraining customer choice at the UBS Global Technology conference for investors this week.

    The executive added that HP’s “really proud” about raising “the range on our print margins” through “bold moves and shifting models.”


    The original article contains 646 words, the summary contains 131 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • SeaJ@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    Is this like when Domino’s admitted that their pizza was garbage?

  • 1024_Kibibytes@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    I’m copying my comment from an earlier thread on the same subject.

    Tl:Dr If you want to be less hated, make a good product.

    I was asked to set up an HP printer earlier this week. It was connected by a USB cable. It stopped printing after a few pages.

    HP wants the end user to download their app to use the printer. The printer also has to be set up using an Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection. I’d already tried to connect it to Wi-Fi using the button on the printer, but it just said “Er” & blinked some other lights. The HP website specifically says that the printer cannot be used with just a USB cable.

    I was confident I could have got it to connect to Wi-Fi and downloaded the app, but it was too much of a problem just to be able to print.

    I had a Brother printer moved into its place. There haven’t been any other printing issues.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      I inherited an older (2012) black and white compact HP laser. Has wifi.

      Was a bit of a pita getting wifi setup. Had to use HP software first. Unlike my Canon which just showed up on the network.

      Works great otherwise, surprisingly. Even back then I wouldn’t have bought it.

      • 1024_Kibibytes@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’m not too surprised at having to use HP software to set it up. The one I was assigned to set up wanted an HP app that requires an account. I’m pretty sure it would also need to be continuously connected to the Internet in order to print. That is utterly ridiculous!

  • Joker@discuss.tchncs.de
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    They have put out good laser printers within the past several years. They probably still do. Those things are like tanks. You will replace every other piece of equipment - probably twice - before you have to do any real maintenance with one of those old laser printers. The one I have takes cheap third party toner cartridges. It’s got over 30k prints and I haven’t done anything but replace toner a couple times.

    Their inkjet printers are horrible. Those things suck up so much ink that you spend more on that than you do the printer. You end up at the store looking at a $50 cartridge and a new printer right next to it for $60. Then you walk out with a new printer, in the hopes it might be better, before realizing you got fooled again about a 80 pages later.