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.
If it’s one of the Inland Microcenter branded ones, I believe I’ve seen tests run on those and they have really short lifespans, just a handful of years. So just use it for file transfers and not for any long term storage.
It doesn’t say Inland on it but I got my penny’s worth out of it already. To be quite honest I never had a flash drive until a few weeks ago. It made going to the library to print so much easier than logging into email there or owning and upkeeping a printer at home. By the time it craps out I’ll have gotten another mailer. Thanks for the heads up though.