[HN Gopher] Some Epson printers are programmed to stop working a...
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       Some Epson printers are programmed to stop working after a certain
       amount of use
        
       Author : marron
       Score  : 27 points
       Date   : 2022-08-08 21:13 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (gizmodo.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (gizmodo.com)
        
       | olliej wrote:
       | I feel like the analogy to a car requiring potentially expensive
       | work/replacement parts isn't reasonable, as you only have to
       | replace those parts when they actually die, not at some random
       | fixed point (as much as dealer-workshops may try to convince you
       | otherwise)
        
       | PaulHoule wrote:
       | I think the better Epson printers have a 'maintenance box' which
       | absorbs excess ink and can be replaced.
       | 
       | In general borderless printing causes a lot of hassles. A
       | borderless print looks like a traditional photo print in that the
       | printing extends to the edges of the paper but actually the
       | problem is that the printer doesn't control the position of the
       | paper exactly so it prints an image that extends off the edges of
       | the paper so some traces of ink have to get absorbed.
       | 
       | One consequence is that something on the edge of a borderless
       | print can be cut off so if something is important to the
       | composition you have to leave some extra space.
       | 
       | I hear stories of people who use off-brand inks who have terrible
       | messes with those ink pads used for borderless printing. As
       | resentful as you might get about printer manufacturers, off-brand
       | ink is not consistent with getting good results.
        
       | dang wrote:
       | Submitted title was "Epson Didn't Kill Itself". Please don't
       | rewrite titles like that! It's against the site guidelines, which
       | say " _Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or
       | linkbait; don 't editorialize._" -
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
        
       | ferongr wrote:
       | Waste ink pads are a necessary evil for inkjet printers. Cheap
       | home printers don't get use replaceable ink pads for cost
       | reasons. The Epson Workforce line that uses high capacity ink
       | pouches does (they're called "maintenance boxes"). I don't get
       | the outrage in the article, as filling the ink pad even in
       | consumer printers takes tens of thousands of pages, even hundreds
       | of thousands for sprinter used multiple times a day that doesn't
       | need to flush ink.
        
         | skyyler wrote:
         | The outrage is that these machines are designed to fail. If
         | it's a wear part, make it user replaceable. Programming the
         | printer to just stop working is horrible.
        
           | nickff wrote:
           | Replaceable wear parts cost extra money, and consume extra
           | resources (which cost is a great proxy for). Many consumer
           | products will never be used enough to make user-replace-
           | ability cost effective or an effective use of resources. If
           | you want to find evidence of this, look at all the computer
           | and other consumer grade that is thrown away with no failed
           | wear items (thrown out due to changes in preferences,
           | obsolescence, or poor maintenance).
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | lumberjack24 wrote:
        
         | happytoexplain wrote:
        
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       (page generated 2022-08-08 23:01 UTC)