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HP to Region-code Cartridges
prostoalex writes "Looks like the printer cartridge manufacturers will be borrowing techniques from Hollywood. HP introduced region coding for some of the newest printers sold in Europe. HP's US location and US dollar sliding lead to the situation, where cartridge prices in Europe are significantly higher than those in the States. In the Wall Street Journal article HP representative in Europe claims the company doesn't make any money off regional coding for cartridges, and that consumers will win once the US dollar rises over Euro."
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/01/18/why_hps_regio n_codin.html
True, or translation for us Brits. ... once [sic, read: if] the US dollar rises over the Pound.
Yeah right. That's going to happen. The pound is so strong against the dollar right now it's silly.
Importing stuff from the US makes sense to comsumers here, especially now the Internet makes it easy.
US companies have ritually shafted us for years with their foreign price fixing and they're not happy when we won't take it and import instead.
I can import Levis 501s for $32 that's £17.13. Here they cost £45. Even if Customs and Excise notice and charge me duty I'm still paying less than half the price they set here. Typically I get my American friends to bring a new pair over for me when they visit.
Electronics and Computers too. A friend of mine flew over from Birmingham, UK to New York City for a break a couple of years ago. He bought a Powerbook G4 whilst there. He said the money he saved covered the cost of his flight.
I'm pretty sure we have laws governing free market to stop this crap.
Don't blame me - this
In Sweden HP and a few other manufacturers set the prices on the replacement cartridges so high that there exists a huge market in refillables as well refill kits for existing ones.
It is quite obvious HP makes more money off their expensive cartridges than the printer sales themselves. If you are smart you actually buy new printer for 40 including a cartridge instead of... just a refill cartridge for 40.
I can see a trend where HP and other manufacturers odify their ink:
- harder to refill
- have even tougher to crack IDs (to precent the use of refillable third party cartridges) DMCA and the European equivalents will surely be used some day as a move
- country or region coded
I for one avoid HP and Lexmark inkjets, and this aversion for these brands has also lead to many purchase decisions affecting HPs computer, laptop and laser printer sales in organisations where I am involved.
This reeks of greed.
In other News....
Warren Buffett sees no way but down for US dollar
The dollar cannot avoid further declines against other major currencies unless the US trade and current account deficits improve, legendary investor and businessman Warren Buffett said.
"I think, over time, unless we have a major change in trade policies, I don't see how the dollar avoids going down," the world's second-richest individual told CNBC television.
"I don't know when it happens. I don't have any idea whether it will be this month or this year or next year, but we are force-feeding dollars on to the rest of the world at the rate of close to a couple billion dollars a day, and that's going to weigh on the dollar."
Buffett noted the record US deficit of 164.7 billion dollars in the third quarter of 2004 in the current account, which measures trade and investment flows.
But - since HP's pricing has gone worse over time anyway, I think it's time to ditch them for good and no longer buy their products... (and just hope that this whole thing doesn't catch on in the printer industry).
Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. Take a look at the list of Suggested Printers for Free Software Users and try to find a printer that is well supported on BSD, Linux and friends. The list is a bit outdated, but in general it's a good guideline. I researched this in detail a few months ago when I was shopping for a new printer and in the end, as much as I hate HP, I decided that an HP PSC series printer would be the most suitable and economic choice for my needs.
Epson is even worse than HP in many ways as most modern Epson printers seem to be the disposable type which gets clogged up within 6 months in such a way that buying a new printer is cheaper than replacing the head.
Canon printers seem nice in terms of quality, but there are no realiable high quality drivers for BSD or Linux. The same can be said for all the other major manufacturers. Ink cost is also an issue and with HP you can at least resort to refilling the cartridges yourself, which reduces the cost about 4 to 5 times.
While I agree with your sentiment, comparing the laserjet 6 with the laserjet 4 is a little disengenous. The LJ6 was never meant to be a replacement for the much more serious LJ4. A more valid comparison would be between the LJ4 and LJ4000, which came out roughly around the time of the LJ6. The LJ4 retailed for around $2000, as did the LJ4000. The LJ6 retailed for under $800.
The LJ4000 is a fine printer in my opinion, as are its successors, the 4050 and to a lesser extent the 4100. I do agree though, that the LJ4 probably beats them all for sheer tanklike reliability.