The business model for printers is just the same as for razors, that is, to sell the basic machine very cheaply and the consumables at a premium. However, for some time now we have been seeing much cheaper alternatives to the official cartridges appear. All this has led to the fact that instead of looking for a fair price for consumables for the user, which would be reasonable, many brands have decided to go for more draconian options that are none other than blocking the use of third-party cartridges.
This is how HP only lets you use its own cartridges in its printers
Well yes, Hewlett Packard printers have the ability to detect if the cartridges are original or not. How do they do that? Well, the method is very simple. Each of its devices has a hidden key that only HP itself knows and basically this is encoded both in a small chip in the cartridges and in the peripheral. Plain and simple, when the two elements are subtracted they give a zero and the condition that the cartridge is original is activated to let the printer work normally.
Obviously, we have given you a very simplified explanation and the most likely thing is that there is a security key of various levels and with some complex formula in the middle. By which we mean that they have turned their printer parts into a key to be able to use them. In this way they charge the competition with a stroke of the pen and return to a state of price monopoly that is detrimental for users who see how the rise in the cost of each impression goes through the roof.
The only way cartridge manufacturers other than HP itself can make their cartridges is by purchasing the brand name chips that allow for compatibility. What’s more, if you decide to use an unofficial cartridge, all the print queue that you have sent to print at that moment will simply be canceled and what you will have is your printer turned into a nice paperweight.
They have lost lawsuits for it
The measure of blocking third-party cartridges and forcing the use of their own or those who have their chips has led them to several lawsuits in which the company has lost several accounts due to maneuvers against consumers. Instead of admitting the error, they have limited themselves to reporting which printers have this “feature” and which do not. In any case, if we look in perspective, we have to start from the fact that HP’s position was in danger a few years ago due to low income from its printer division.
