Fuck off HP!!!!
"Ever thought that perhaps the printers are subsidised by the cost of the consumables?"
So? That's their business proposition is it? That's fine by me, but what they are up to now is NOT fine by me.
I had an excellent HP 1210 All-in-one printer. Worked beautifully. I took it to UK with me. Sadly it broke down, so based on my experience with them I bought another on, this time a wireless one.
Although it prints fine and scans OK, it is the biggest heap of shit I have ever come across. Not only does the software not allow you to change the default page size to something that works in 90% (guess) of the world (A4). Correction, it will allow you to change it, but if you go into one of their other icons(?) to say, print a picture, when you return to 'Ordinary, everyday printing' (who thinks up these things), you have to reset the default to A4. When one complains to HP Service desk (an oxymoron if ever I saw one) they tell you that Letter is the same as A4, and all they will tell you is to reinstall the software - over and over and over. The robots don't read anything that is in your emails, just insisting that they are 'pleased to be of assistance' and to kindly reinstall the software - or switch it off and switch it on again. Doesn't do my blood pressure any good I can tell you.
Not only that, but having returned to New Zealand I find that I can't just go out and buy a cartridge to fit, even an HP cartridge, as I did with my old one one in England. The fuckers have actually regionalised the printers!!! They are getting as bad as the big studios. I can't just buy a cartridge (even proper HP ones) off the shelf as they won't work. Oh no! I've got to waste my time calling HP to have the 'region' changed.
I spent over an hour pissing about with a service desk agent while nothing they suggested worked. In the end they said they would replace the printer, which on the face of it, sounds fine, except they insisted that I had to give my existing (working) printer to the courier. I told 'em that they will get the old printer back when, and only when, I have the new one installed and working properly. Bad grace but they accepted it. What else could they do. I told the courier the same thing. They came back the next day to collect the old one.
As of now HP, I will never buy another HP product ever again. To stoop to regionalising printers so that each country can charge their own price for consumables is despicable. Incidentally, one of their agents admitted that's why it was done. Quote "We have to protect our resellers' unquote.
. Sad really, as it was a damn good printer.