Lowering HP Quality

Ed Foster's Gripe Line column reports on users' complaints of HP lowering the quality of its products. (You can read the trashy HP scanner I bought -- and returned 12 hours later -- here.)

Locally, FutureShop is advertising an HP color inkjet printer for CDN$40 (about US$35). Think of all the quality that must've been removed to get the price that low. It's cheaper to buy 'em for their cartridges than use them for printing.

I can't complain about the HP PhotoSmart P1100 color printer I have been using for about five years. Always works (except when Windows decides that I shouldn't be allowed to print to it from a networked computer. Stupid Windows.) Actually, I can complain a smidgen: the duplex add-on now jams paper, but I rarely used it, so it doesn't really matter.

Mr Foster's column quotes a fellow who would like to continue using older HP printers (because they are well built) but cannot because neither HP nor Microsoft will write drivers for newer operating systems. Just another reason to not upgrade, although be forced to stay with Windows 98 is a bit harsh. A couple of workarounds: (1) hook the printer to a Win98 "print server" computer; or (2) use PostScript printer drivers.

Comments

[Wayne Thompson]

HP's quality has truly degraded over the past 10 years. My G85 All in One lasted about 18 months and then spit out plastic gear parts out of the paper feeder while faxing. The latest is my HP 7410 which I bought in May/June 07. It died today while replacing the Black cartridge. This unit has made many a weird grinding noises during it's short life. In the end, the tension spring in the cartridge tray broke loose from it's plastic holder. This allowed the cartridge to press the spring into the back flex circuit puncture a nice hole into the flex circuit. The interesting thing is that during my online chat with HP tech support, they were able to up supply a picture of a carriage with broken spring holders. This may have been my 3rd black cartridge replacement since owning the unit.
I believe I will be moving onto a Lexmark this time.

WT