The International Imaging Technology Council (Int'l ITC), a trade group for cartridge remanufacturers, says HP's latest printer firmware rollout conflicts with the requirements of the General Electronics...

HP’s long-running use of firmware updates that block third-party ink and toner cartridges is drawing scrutiny again – this time under a new global sustainability standard that explicitly forbids the practice.

The International Imaging Technology Council (Int’l ITC), a trade group for cartridge remanufacturers, says HP’s latest printer firmware rollout conflicts with the requirements of the General Electronics Council’s (GEC) updated Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool, or EPEAT 2.0.

    • A_norny_mousse@piefed.zipEnglish
      7·
      2 days ago

      From the article:

      According to the GEC’s published criteria, printer vendors have three compliance paths. They can avoid firmware changes that disable remanufactured cartridges, offer approved cartridge solutions that maintain device functionality, or make remanufactured options available for purchase through their own channels. Each route is meant to encourage a model in which printing components are reused rather than discarded.

      So far, more than 38,000 products remain listed under the older EPEAT 1.0 registry, while only 163 have transitioned to the new 2.0 standard – none of them printers.

      It’s not binding. Maybe articles like this one will shame hp into stopping that bs one day ☀️ (only joking)