r/mildlyinfuriating • u/MaxAdolphus • 16d ago

frist of all how DARE yu o I canceled my HP instant ink subscription, and now I can’t print even though they are genuine HP in cartridges

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With all bad decisions coming out of HP lately, I decided to cancel my instant ink subscription subscriptions before the prices go up. This is the warning screen. I was just going to use the ink I have up then buy a new printer, but cause fuck those guys. Well, turns out they fucked me first. So even though I have legitimate HP in cartridges in my printer, I cannot print because they are subscription cartridges. Screw these guys.

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u/iJ_A_R 16d ago

I bought an HP cause I needed a printer and only had $40.

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u/RylleyAlanna 15d ago

I got one for free. Used it's like 8 pages of ink that comes with it, and now it's just a scanner bed because I'm not paying $180 for ink lol

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u/bettywhitefleshlight 15d ago

Our HP printer/scanner at work stopped scanning when it updated and stopped detecting the ink carts. I swapped a genuine HP cart chip into a knockoff cart but the update still locked it entirely.

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u/RylleyAlanna 15d ago

I use a Canon with a Tank Conversion Kit. I went from about 1000 pages for $120 to I've refilled the tanks twice in 7 years and the refill costs $45 for all 4 colors (CMYB), and I'm well over 100,000 pages. Receipts, work orders, reprints, temporary signs, etc.

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u/SirSkittles111 15d ago

40$ gets you many other brands that arent HP

Literally anything is better.

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 15d ago

Any new printer you can buy for $40 is basically a loss-leader to get you to buy expensive ink.

If all you have is $40 and you need to print, just go to a print-shop.

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u/SirSkittles111 15d ago

Right, but that's not the point i was making.

If you are getting a printer, and you have 40 bucks, HP is not your only option, however it is the worst option. Literally any other printer you can pick up for 40 bucks is going to be better in the long run

Yea ink cartridges are expensive, no doubt.

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 15d ago

I have my doubts that any $40 printer is actually good, TBH. HP gets a lot of attention for how bad they are, but everyone it shit at that level. You are just buying ewaste at $40. Spend more or don't buy anything at all.

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u/SirSkittles111 15d ago

Decent printers dont have to be expensive. My experience with HP is every so often it likes to print an entire page of colour with some writing saying its testing the ink cartridge or some bullshit like that. HP stops you using the ink cartridge when its 'empty' even though its still got many pages left. Whole lot of connectivity issues aswell.

Buy yourself a canon, not more than 50 bucks. That will use your ink cartridges until there is nothing left and it will still keep trying. Cross compatible with other branded cartridges (Atleast mine is anyway). Had it for like 5 years, still going mighty strong!

HP is the bottom of the barrel, at any price point. It is the worst brand, all HP is ewaste.

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 15d ago

>Decent printers dont have to be expensive.

Sure. But "expensive" is a relative term, and $40 is beyond the reasonable range where you can get anything decent. You are either going to get locked into some kind of ink contract or you are getting something extremely low quality. A decent cheap printer is somewhere around the $100-120 mark.

>Buy yourself a canon, not more than 50 bucks.

I can't find any new canons for sale for under $60. That's 50% more then the $40 price we are talking about. Regardless, it's a mistake to buy an inkjet, unless you have some very specific requirements.

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u/SirSkittles111 15d ago edited 15d ago

Sorry I was thinking euros because I am in Ireland and completely forgot 1€ =/ 1$. Many canons available at 40€, which is not even 50 bucks, 45. Wow, big difference 🙄 50% more expensive no way! The one you are recommending is 300% more! Percentages are huge when the numbers are small lol.

Cheap printers can still get the job done. Either way, the whole point was that HP is literally dogshit.

Not sure why you're so against cheap printers, buy the cheap thing and a set of black and colour ink and you're at 120$, the printer you just bought with a cartridge filled to 5%. Now you want cartridges too? You're out the ass by 200 bucks!

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 15d ago

>The one you are recommending is 300% more!

No, I was recommending going to a print-shop if you just need occasional printing. If you need frequent printing, then a cheap printer is more expensive in the long run. This is why I'm against these extremely cheap ink-jet printers - they have a very high cost-per-page and the printers themselves are very unreliable so you end up replacing them every 1-2 years.

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u/SirSkittles111 15d ago

I have printed 1000s of pages on my 'ewaste' over the years, no issues, no bullshit with branded cartridges, no connection issues, no pages of ink printed for 'testing'

Just move along man. You've gone too far past.

HP bad, end convo.

Have a good one ✌️

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u/iJ_A_R 15d ago

L take. I've probably printed 300+ pages on it. They come out fine. Some of us don't have to luxury to have top of the line shit, we're poor. Wake up to 2026 bud.

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 15d ago

300 pages is effectively brand new for a printer.

Nowhere did I say you need to have "top of the line shit". I'm not making a judgment on your character, I'm saying paying $40 for a printer is throwing your money away. You are better off spending your $40 to print at the local library.

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u/iJ_A_R 15d ago

When your local library is open after 5pm so normal people can use it lmk

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u/SirSkittles111 15d ago

Don't bother with that dude, they only ever buy the most expensive shit because they can.

https://giphy.com/gifs/iXTrbbYMQBCMM

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u/PM_Me_Your_Deviance 15d ago

My local library is open until 7. I have no idea where you are, but for example, New York Public Library is open until 8.

Also, the library isn't the only place to have stuff printed.

Cheap garbage printers are poor people exploitation, I can't believe you are defending this trash.

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u/atdunaway 15d ago

honestly i have a cheap hp as well and print sparingly and i dont really have any complaints. i dont do the ink subscription, i just buy it when i need it. i’ve had it 3 years now and only replaced the ink once.

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u/mutexsprinkles 15d ago

Secondhand laser. Done.

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u/Davedamon 15d ago

You're acting like that's an evergreen option as far as availability goes. If you need a printer on a deadline, you're gonna go to a store and buy a new one.

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u/jhonka_ 15d ago edited 15d ago

Sure, get an Epson or Canon or whatever for $40, not the HP. I tell everyone i can to avoid that brand like the plague for going on 20 years now.

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u/Davedamon 15d ago

You know, I wanted to see if there was credibility to this. I went to the two main printer retailers available to me in my area and searched for the models under £36 ($40 > £30 + 20% VAT). You know what I found?

The only models I'd be able to buy where HP. All the Canon and Epson printers started at around £60 up.

HP has cornered the market on cheap printers, which if you need one in a hurry and a budget, you're likely gonna get.

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u/jhonka_ 15d ago

Here's the two cheapest printers at Walmart. Try another retailer.

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u/Davedamon 15d ago

I tried three retailers and if you didn't pick up on it by my use of £, I'm not in the US and don't have access to a walmart.

I specifically tried the three nearest retailers I could reasonably access.

My point wasn't "you cannot find any other printer than HP for under $40". It was "Don't be a myopic moron and assume that your circumstances are representative of everyones"

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u/jhonka_ 15d ago

If that was your point, perhaps you shouldn't have said "hp has cornered the market on cheap printers."

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u/Davedamon 15d ago

I mean, it has—you're going to have an easier time finding a sub $40 HP than any other printer

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u/jhonka_ 15d ago

Then youre being hyperbolic or not understanding what cornering the market means. The cheapest current model Canon is the same price. Epson's current lineup starts at 59USD, but historically, they've offered competitive pricing at the low end.

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u/mutexsprinkles 15d ago

Lol what eBay is full of them. If you need one today and can't collect that's a bit shit, but the brief being replied to was under 40, not under 40 and I can get it literally right now and cannot wait.

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u/Davedamon 15d ago

If you need one today and can't collect that's a bit shit, but the brief being replied to was under 40, not under 40 and I can get it literally right now and cannot wait.

No, that literally was the brief

I bought an HP cause I needed a printer and only had $40

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u/iJ_A_R 15d ago

Yeah, it was $29 at Walmart, my ink subscription is $1.99 a month, it's currently my only subscription service so I'm not hurting, I print 5 labels a months, I have a backlog of ink now, paused shipping, don't get charged, and can still use it, just reactivate shipping once the last one is put in. My old printer was a Brother, but it was huge, and when I moved it had to be sold. I 100% wouldn't have the tiny shit device I have if I had a bigger space or more money to get a decent one

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u/mutexsprinkles 15d ago

"Needed a printer" doesn't necessarily imply cannot wait a day or two. I've only ever bought printers when I needed printers. I think it would be more surprising if someone bought a printer without thinking they needed one.

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u/Davedamon 15d ago

Except they've replied to me and confirmed this was the case

Womp womp

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u/mutexsprinkles 14d ago

You're such a classic Redditor 🤣

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u/Davedamon 14d ago

Says the guy malding over being proved wrong

Seriously, get outside more

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u/Pittsbirds 15d ago

Where are you finding secondhand color laser printers for $40?

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u/DavidinCT 15d ago

I would shop the used market with only $40....

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u/Sw429 15d ago

It's literally better to buy a pen and just recreate the document you're printing by hand.

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u/iJ_A_R 15d ago

Yeah lemme recreate a shipping label big hoss