HP is extremely worthy of all the hate they ever get.
this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2026
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Flippanarchy
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You say this, but the proportion of the population that is vocal about stuff like this is tiny.
My normie cousin pays for an HP subscription and likes that he doesn't have to worry about running out of ink and that he's never got to worry about his kids telling him about homework printing the night before it is due. He was unconvinced about getting a Brother laser printer.
The world is insane because the masses accept the insanity. Some even support it.
Capitalists know how to sweeten the pot, even when it's full of poison
Personally I've been burned by them twice. Once on a printer and once on a laptop. Won't buy anything from them again. I know the sort of person you're talking about though. I know some "techy people" who think the convenience of corporations reaching into your pocket every month is neat and bizarrely don't notice the heads need realigning every few weeks or that their wifi is spottier than Disney's dalmatians combined.
My printer has the same network blocks on it as my smart tvs. None are allowed access to the internet.
That's why you support projects like this: https://www.crowdsupply.com/open-tools/open-printer
and never ever buy a hp product.
That is really cool. I’ve subbed, hope it comes out one day.
Also that site in general is great. Thanks for sharing.
The only thing it is missing is a scanner
Finally!
You know according to DMCA in US, to do this jailbreak, you’re committing a crime and the penalties are so rough, you would have a longer jail time doing that, than stealing the printer from a store.
I'll go to prison and teach all the inmates and the guards how to do it as well, fucking fight me you degenerate tech dystopia leaders
FYI the usual advice of just getting a Brother laser no longer applies, because they too, have enshittified and started adding toner DRM.
The "best" no frills printers remaining are either: old Brothers or new Kyoceras (for laser); or Ink Tanks. For the Ink Tanks, ironically the ones by HP are the best, with the ones by Canon and Epson either being designed to fail, or also having DRM.
Brother printers causing issues with third party inks - Consumer Rights Wiki - https://consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Brother_printers_causing_issues_with_third_party_inks&_quality_sabotage=
No way?! So the only option for now is to buy an old printer?
Sorry realised the wording was confusing. As a general rule, any printer model with good availability of generic toner/ink is a good sign. The manufacturer offering Linux drivers is also a good sign.
If you want a new printer, the only "good" options are Kyocera (laser), or HP Smart Tank (ink tank).
Its cool, not that i need a printer anyway, just pisses me off how these companies operate nowadays.
Even if i did need a printer id never buy a hp, had nothing but trouble with em in the past.
I have an old ricoh laser b/w that works great, any news about ricoh?
I got rid of my printer years ago and just go to my local library to print things now. $0.10 per page is not a great deal in the grand scheme of things, but it goes to a place I want to have more money, so I still call it a win.
The number of times I needed something urgent printed in the evening when all the shops are closed has made my laser printer one of the most valuable rarely used devices in my house. That and the fact that printing is just a 30 seconds job instead of a whole routine of hoops lasting at least an hour just to get to the local printing shop.
I hate to tell you this, wendigoon, but that's not your printer. It's theirs.
Oh that brings back a memory I had damn near repressed. I had a printer/scanner combination (Canon in this case) and I was coming up on a deadline to scan a butt load of important documents.
That's the exact moment the printhead on the printer part of the printer/scanner decided to crap out.
Well thankfully I didn't need that part to work if I just needed to use the scanner, right? Wrong.
Why would you buy something if it’s not yours? At least the printer should be free, and you use as you pay the subscription…
This should never be legal
I hate that Apple stopped making printers. I think they realised printers are inherently shit, so they stopped trying. Then again, their standards on the iPhone have fallen so far (and while I still like the Mac, and I don't hate Liquid Ass... er, Glass, I think what it did to Finder (our file manager) is absolutely atrocious), they might as well start making printers again.
Also, there's this:
Note that The Verge recently started paywalling all of its articles. This one appears free. I think there are a few that they don't paywall because they know they get shared on social media. It's still a shit site and source, but I love the snark in this article.
Also note, it's likely you've seen the same article with a better name. It used to be called something like "Stop looking for printers and buy the Brother printer everyone else is buying and stop worrying" or something like that. Guess someone told them it was too snarky. But yeah, $120 laser printer, it costs more than an inkjet but you're not trapped in endless subscriptions until the thing falls apart.
Lastly IMO, HP's subscription service is probably a good deal for home users who rarely print, if it still covers free shipping of new ink and free replacement of the printer itself when it goes out. I have no printer. My Mac mini sits where my printer would go, and it's surrounded by a bunch of anime figures. I've thought about print-by-mail options, but the truth is, I can put something on Proton Drive, download it at work, print on the laser printers there, and carry it home. You're not supposed to but no one really cares, people waste paper and toner left and right. The amount of forms I see with half the page straight up black... like bro, why? Why not just use the line fill in Excel? They say nothing should be written there. Okay so you're gonna use 50 pages' worth of toner on one sheet, but fuck it, company pays for it? Then no, no one cares if I print a three page letter among the 200-400 pages I print a day. ...but anyway, if you need more than a few sheets printed here and there, you should just pony up for a laser printer already, and fuck The Verge, do your own research. They give you the model number. Search that on your ethical search engine (or Google it, IDGAF) and see what other people say about that printer. But I don't have it, so I can only point to what others say.
Apple is like the king of anti consumer design and planned obsolescence why are they the ones you wish still made printers? It'd only print from an Apple computer, only Apple signed PDFs, and then be a paperweight the second the tiniest thing went wrong.
I've been rocking the same Brother printer since 2012. Still going strong!
@cerebralhawks @Deceptichum I can't believe they can have done anything to Finder to make it worse, surely?
Not functionally. The Liquid Glass visuals clash though. Like they raise elements that don't need to be raised. It looked better before. Functionally it's the same (to my use case).
I bought a Brother off craigslist for $60 and it's been solid.
I see them at Goodwill all the time but I'm in a bigger city.
I have had two brother printers since 2018, one at home, and one at work. I have always used official brother toner, but last year when all the fuss about not being able to use whatever toner in brothers came up, i got some after market toner to try it out. Works just fine.
Seems to be something built in to consumer level devices. I forked out several years ago for an entry-level commercial model because I got sick of all the BS surrounding inkjet refill prices as well as preventing refills, preventing third party brand refills, and just locking up the device for whatever the f reason the manufacturer decides. You can’t do that to a commercial device, an office would lose their shit if their devices started getting held ransom because of some account credit card expiration. The commercial printer was expensive, but worth it.
Haha no, these days the corporate ones are connected to their systems so they can “monitor” it and ensure ink replacements come out in time. It’s an active paid subscription model in the corporate world.
Well shit. Looks like I got mine just in time before things went to hell there too.
I'm pretty sure its just a specific HP model. You sign up for the subscription, and they send you the printer and ink as needed.
I think they still have normal printers too.
Ah, good. Ours is just a basic small office laser. Never had to sign up for anything to get it to work, and it’s been trouble-free.
I fucking love Wendigoon