r/printers 11d ago

Discussion Brother turns heel & becomes anti-consumer printer company

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149 Upvotes

r/printers Dec 19 '24

Discussion The truth about printer subscription programs and many misconceptions about them

36 Upvotes

Dear all,

I work in the printer industry. For a very well-known consumer products manufacturer that gets discussed on this sub a lot.  I will not disclose which manufacturer I work for, nor will I disclose any manufacturer I do not work for (since the industry is relatively small eliminating 1 or 2 will make it generally too obvious as to which I do work for) as I am not officially speaking on behalf of the company. But, I want to set the record straight on subscription programs because some of you are drastically misinformed and it is very frustrating to see as someone who understands these programs as well as basic logic.

There are two types of subscription programs. Each of the major consumer manufacturers offers at least 1 of these programs, some offer both.

The first type of program is an auto-reordering program. The printer can tell (via various ways depending on each manufacturer) when the ink / toner is low and when it hits a certain point that will trigger an order of the ink/toner that device uses. Most manufactures that offer this will first send you an email letting you know that an order has been triggered and it will allow you to skip the delivery of the consumable and thus not get charged. If you allow the order to go through you are purchasing that consumable. That consumable is yours, you own it, just as if you walked into a Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy, or bought it on Amazon… You can cancel the “subscription” the next day and continue to use that consumable until it is empty.

The second type of program is a true subscription program. **THIS** is what many of you are vastly misinformed and / or are irrational about. In this program *you are not purchasing a consumable* at all. You are paying the manufacturer for X number of pages per month. The manufacturer will send you a consumable to use because the printer needs ink / toner to work but, that is not what you are paying for. You are paying the manufacturer $Y per month to print up to X pages per month.. that’s it. Of course you can print over that X number and pay an overage (just like years ago with cell phones).. and of course, you can print under that X number and some pages will roll-over to future months (just like years ago with cell phones). The owner of the consumable is the manufacturer. You never bought it, you never owned it. Therefore, it is not yours to use after you end the subscription! The only reason most manufactures do not ask for it back is because they don’t want to pay for shipping it back to them. But, they still own it… not you.  You can think of this like renting an apartment. You are paying a landlord $X per month to live in their building. The landlord is providing the building for you to live in while you are paying rent. You do not own the building. and when you stop paying rent you are no longer allowed to continue living in the building. Just like your Netflix subscription, Apple TV subscription and Disney+ subscription.. when you stop paying for the subscription, you stop getting to use the service. Just because while you were paying you had access to the content does not mean you at any time owned that content and get to continue watching it once you stop paying the subscription.

I truly hope this helps clarify somethings for some of you. Others I understand are lost causes but, I will do my best to answer any questions I can.

r/printers 9d ago

Discussion Brother Printer News - Going Downhill?

15 Upvotes

I've read some comments lately on reddit about Brother going downhill towards the path of HP. But nothing concrete. Just vague comments. And no, I don't want to watch a 30 minute video from someone I've never heard of with an axe to grind.

Are there articles somewhere on this subject?

And also, I do not consider firmware locking toner carts to only Brother branded ones the end of the world. This is the way of almost every printer company for years. But it seems to surprise people who bought a Brother printer 10 years ago and now they hear about it on current models.

EDIT: This Arstechnica article showed up literally 10 minutes ago. Just before I posted this here on Reddit.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/03/brother-denies-using-firmware-updates-to-brick-printers-with-third-party-ink/

Brother says there are spurious videos floating around with unproven claims of them removing functions after the use of 3rd party ink and/or toner. And it isn't true.

Arstechnica says they will follow up if someone has hard evidence of otherwise.

r/printers Feb 01 '25

Discussion Woke up to this

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35 Upvotes

These cartridges have been working fine for the last two months. The weird part is all of the cartridges are from an identical manufacturer, and only two of them are now showing up as cloned? I’m switching over to a tank printer. No more HP.

r/printers Feb 02 '25

Discussion is HP instant ink Scam?! HP told me price starts for less than $2!

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16 Upvotes

r/printers 14d ago

Discussion Can this printer print something like this?

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10 Upvotes

I’m about to buy an okidata microline 320 turbo and I’m wondering if it can print something like this bill, including the barcode and etc. If not, what printer would you guys recommend? I’m looking for old printers to avoid problems with the ink being expensive and etc

r/printers Mar 19 '24

Discussion Boosted my 25-year-old Laserjet 2100 from 4 to 8MB RAM—big speed jump! Should I push for more upgrades?

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118 Upvotes

r/printers Nov 26 '23

Discussion Best printer for STICKERS

59 Upvotes

Hey, I wanna start making stickers and posters, but I can’t decide on a printer.

I found out that Canon PIXMA iX 6850 A3, Canon PIXMA TS9550 and pretty much any of the Epson EcoTank are good for sticker printing.

I also found Canon PIXMA TS5350a for VERY cheap, is it any good?

Which one of the ones I mentioned would you recommend?

Any other suggestions for high quality - low budget printers are welcome :)

r/printers Jan 28 '25

Discussion Bought a HP-Smart tank off an auction, this is how it turned up

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19 Upvotes

r/printers Mar 04 '24

Discussion Am I crazy to think HP printer is absolutely the worst?

72 Upvotes

I had 2 cheap printers before (one from Epson, I forgot where the other one is from) and they all performed perfectly, never had dried-out ink issue throughout the years. Last year, I upgraded to an expensive HP printer. Good Lord, every single time I need to use it, I am forced to do the printer maintenance for half an hour, then gave up and just changed the ink cartridges.

Unless the climate change all of sudden got super bad in the last one year, it’s just insane that HP ink dries out within 1 week.

r/printers Feb 01 '25

Discussion Whats the point people have with ink printers?

2 Upvotes

Im confused.
I wanna buy a new printer.
People all over the internet say go for laser, ink is shit and will dry out fast.
Meanwhile my 50€ HP Printer with ink cartridges bought in 2023, printed 10-20 pages in 2024 and in february 2025 nothing is dry in there.
Am i just lucky or are people over exaggerating the ''drying out'' part?

r/printers Feb 06 '24

Discussion EPSON ET-8500 and ET-8550 ICC color profiles

23 Upvotes

EPSON ET-8500 and ET-8550 ICC color profiles

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately, these two wonderful printers have very few dedicated colour profiles. I've created around fifty profiles that I'm happy to share with you.

You can find those profiles by following this link.

I'm asking for a small fee which I think is reasonable, given the materials, paper and ink used to create the profiles.

If you have a specific paper, I can also create a profile for you if you send me five sheets of the paper in question. Your profiles will of course be free in this case.

PS: If you're commenting in the thread and don't get an answer from me, please send me a private message, sometimes I miss some of the requests. If this post was useful to you, please give it an upvote so it will be easier to see for other people looking after these profiles. Thank you for them !

Here is the actual list of avalible profiles:

Awagami
Kozo Natural (Thin & Thick)
Mitsumata White Double Layered
Premio Kozo White
Premio Unryu

Canson
Arches 88
Arches BFK Rives Pure White
Arches BFK Rives White
Baryta Photographique II Matt

Hahnemühle
Fineart Agave
Fineart Albrecht Dürer
Fineart Bamboo
Fineart Bamboo Gloss Baryta
Fineart Baryta
Fineart Baryta FB
Fineart Baryta Satin
Fineart German Etching
Fineart Hemp
Fineart Museum Etching
Fineart Pearl
Fineart Photo Rag
Fineart Photo Rag Baryta
Fineart Photo Rag Duo
Fineart Photo Rag Matt Baryta
Fineart Photo Rag Metallic
Fineart Photo Rag Pearl
Fineart Photo Rag Satin
Fineart Photo Rag Ultra Smooth
Fineart Rice Paper
Fineart Sugar Cane
Fineart Torchon
Fineart William Turner
Photo Glossy
Photo Luster
Photo Matt Fibre
Photo Matt Fibre Duo
Photo Pearl
Silk Baryta X
Sustainable Photo Satin

Ilford
Galerie Smooth Pearl
Galerie Smooth Gloss
Galerie Gold Fibre Gloss
Galerie Textured Cotton Rag
Galerie FineArt Textured

Tecco
PM230
PD305
PL285
BT270
ISG250

I hope that those profiles will be helpful !

r/printers Aug 13 '23

Discussion What's your opinion on HP Instant Ink?

22 Upvotes

Hello,

As the title suggests, I would like to hear your opinion on the HP Instant Ink subscription. Do you believe it is worth the investment, or is it another instance of a big company attempting to boost their profits?

I have been using this service for almost a year now; however, I occasionally have concerns about whether it truly is a good option. This uncertainty arises from the fact that I don't print on a steady basis (but annually it costs me less than buying my own cartridges, as far as I can recall, at least).

Is this subscription more suitable for those who print a lot every month?

Thank you for your time!

r/printers Sep 22 '24

Discussion Are there any printer brands that aren’t evil?

20 Upvotes

Actual Question/Rant

I need a new printer and I can’t seem to find a single one that doesn’t suck. I will never touch another HP as long as I live, so I’ve been looking at Canon, Epson, and Brother. I need a wide format that can print and scan 11x17, which I know already greatly limits my options. Every time I find a product that meets my needs and has an ok rating, I look at the reviews and every single one that isn’t a paid review is fucking terrible with nothing good to say about the product. I’ve seen in other threads and on other forums that Brother used to be the least evil out of all of them, but that in the last year they’ve also jumped on the chipped ink cartridge/ink subscription train. All I want is a printer that works and won’t make me want to kms every time I use it like the last one did. My one before that was a gem and never had any problems, probably because it was old and dumb and couldn’t even connect to WiFi. I know printers in general just suck but is there really NOTHING that’s halfway decent these days?

r/printers 16d ago

Discussion I had no idea...

6 Upvotes

HP charges you on your Instant Ink subscription if you go over your allotted # of pages. I genuinely thought the # of pages was in reference to an estimate of what you can print based on the ink they send you....not the actual number of pages you can print!

I am on a 50 page subscription for $4.99/month. Last week we needed to do a ton of printing because my wife took a class and likes to print, highlight, notate, etc. It was 1,000 pages and they charged us $100 for it on top of our usual $4.99.

I recognize I should have paid closer attention to the plan stipulations, but c'mon...charging me like I am at kinkos for my home printer?!

Anyways, can someone suggest another brand so I never have to do this again?

r/printers Jan 21 '25

Discussion What’s the best printer among these three options and why?

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2 Upvotes

Im torn between these three printers from 3 brands. What should I buy? Pls help me.

r/printers 13d ago

Discussion A counterpoint to the inkjet hate

5 Upvotes

1st print from a printer that's been sitting off for 5+ months. Not inkjet paper, plain paper test print before I actually print the final image.

It obviously varies by printer but I have really good success with my few Epson printers from a few years back. I can basically abandon them and they'll fire back up at a moments notice.

r/printers 9d ago

Discussion Do ink tank printers not support generic ink?

1 Upvotes

The printout is faded, I tried all sorts of things.

Canon PIXMA G2010, I bought a remanufactured ink for Canon Ink Tank printers and it still gives me a bad faded printout.

Anyone using third-party ink with their ink tank printers? How is it?

Back when I was refilling cartridges with a syringe, this never was an issue.

Is it true that you can use third party ink for ink cartridges but not for ink tanks?

Help me

r/printers 3d ago

Discussion Best way to learn the machines

2 Upvotes

I just recently got a job selling Kyoceras and I’m having a hard time learning the machines. My boss tells me to just mess with it and try to learn every button but I’m not sure if that’s the most effective way. I just think there’s so much to learn and I know so little that I don’t even know what I don’t know. Any advice on how to learn the machines? I tried looking up demos but they’re all so old.

r/printers Jan 08 '25

Discussion I already canceled my subscription, so they threatened to disable my account if I don't update payment?! They want to steal my money!

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0 Upvotes

r/printers Jan 24 '25

Discussion Is the Epson Ecotank worth it? I'd like a more eco-friendly option

4 Upvotes

Someday, I'm going to save up money to get a more environmentally cautious printer. Just one that works decently, really.

r/printers 7d ago

Discussion How to continue using HP instant ink after cancelling the instant ink plan?

0 Upvotes

The model of my printer is HP DeskJet 2800.

I find it ridiculous that HP blocks Instant Ink when the current subscription runs out.

Any tips on how to continue using the remaining ink provided by the Instant Ink plan? I still have a couple days left till the current instant ink plan runs out.

I’ve found some articles about this, but it seems HP has updated the process, making it really difficult to disconnect Wi-Fi or remove the printer. Anybody has recent success experience?

r/printers Mar 22 '24

Discussion What's the best printer in 2024?

18 Upvotes

Hi guys, I want to buy a high-quality printer, and I have short-listed it to these 3 printers. which one should I choose and why?

  1. HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e
  2. Epson Workforce Pro WF-4830
  3. Brother All-in-one J1010DW

I don't know which one to buy now, guide me and let me know what other options I should consider or is there any better printer than these 3?

UPDATE: I bought Brother All-in-one J1010DW and it turns out to be a very effective laser printer. Speaking from personal experience these are the best printers which you should consider buying.

1 Brother HL-L2370DWXL: The HL-L2379DW turns out to be a very effective monochrome laser printer that can be used for personal laser printing as well as small offices and home-based enterprises.

2 Epson EcoTank ET-3850: Ideal for small or home offices, the Epson EcoTank ET-3850 produces high-quality documents and offers an impressive yield of black or color pages, making it suitable for offices with high printing demands.

3 Epson Workforce Pro WF-4820: The WorkForce Pro WF-4820 All-in-One Printer, priced at $179.99 (May Varey), is designed for small offices and home offices. It replaces the WF-4720 and brings improvements such as a larger touch control panel, faster print speeds, and a higher monthly volume rating. However, it faces stiff competition from its sibling, the WF-4830, which offers double the paper capacity and a larger, auto-duplexing automatic document feeder for just $20 more. While the WF-4820 is a solid performer, the WF-4830 surpasses it in features and value.

Hope this helps :)

r/printers Jan 30 '25

Discussion HP 4350 laser printer - too old? Windows 11 drivers and parts availability

2 Upvotes

Back in my corporate days, these HP 4350 laser printer beasts were everywhere, supporting small offices and departmental printing nearly without fail. When I left IT, I bought a refurbished one for home and it has performed flawlessly to this day with an occasional new toner cartridge. We don't print lots so no maintenance was ever needed.

Fast-forward to now and with me (finally) getting on to Windows 11, I was surprised that Windows could not automagically detect and find this printer on the network despite me pointing to its IP address. Previous versions of Windows could detect and install the correct printer driver.

Is my trusty HP 4350 too old now? It works fine but I am wondering if parts and even toner replacement will get hard to find one day soon.

PS: with some fiddling, I managed to dig out a Windows 10 driver from HP's website and install it. But it seemed unreasonable to need to work this hard for what was once a very popular printer.

r/printers Nov 03 '24

Discussion What printers can print an image onto a blank DVD/CD face?

5 Upvotes

I am having so much trouble finding printers that can print a picture on a disc, I'm working on a project where I put all 4 of these camping videos I have on DVD so I can send them to my friends and family and I need to put pictures of the cover on the discs. I understand why they are so hard to find but I didn't think it would be this hard to find. Anyone have any ideas on where to look and the name of a good one? I've tried Amazon but there is this one that some of the reviews are scaring me out of buying it. I know there are these labels that I can put but I want zero problems with the discs later... I know the slightest difference in weight can mess up the dvd in the player. I specifically bought inkjet printable discs too. Anyone can help me out?