re: #35 Mattand

I just went through this with my HP printer. Apparently they put expiration dates on ink cartridges now. I had a few that had been sitting around for a year or two and when I popped them in, the freaking printer software told me they were expired, like milk.

I managed to get one or two replacements from HP customer support but that was like pulling teeth. I’m in the same boat. I am getting a color laser printer moving forward. It’s way more economical; if you price a printer ink by the gallon, it’s some insane number like $325 per.

That is by design, also part of “razor” marketing. More and more companies are putting technology in their devices which detects the “branded” replacement (coffee pod companies are becoming notorious for this).

The idea is you can only hold the patent on your razor blade or ink pot so long, then it expires and cheaper competitors come into the market. Since you’re already locked into the printer you bought, you’ll learn the hard way you can’t use someone else’s replacement.