How long are manufacturers required to support with cartridges?

  • Thread starter Thread starter joboils
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joboils

The title says it all, really.
Today, printers seem to resemble cameras and hi-fi gear, being
"updated" or replaced every few months. As their advertisements all
boast large numbers of pages per cartridge, how realistic is it of me
to suppose that, after some time, a perfectly serviceable printer will
outlast the supply of toner cartridges and thus become junk?
Is there a sort'v legal requirement imposed on manufacturers to
support their hardware with consumables for a minimum time?
TIA.
 
Today, printers seem to resemble cameras and hi-fi gear, being
"updated" or replaced every few months. As their advertisements all
boast large numbers of pages per cartridge, how realistic is it of me
to suppose that, after some time, a perfectly serviceable printer will
outlast the supply of toner cartridges and thus become junk?
Is there a sort'v legal requirement imposed on manufacturers to
support their hardware with consumables for a minimum time?
Click to expand...

It depends on where you are, as laws vary by country and locality. I
believe in California consumables are required to be sold for seven years
after the last printer of that model is sold. I know that for HP you can
still buy inkjet cartridges for the Thinkjet printer introduced a couple
decades ago as well as practically any other HP inkjet ever produced. (The
only exception I know of was the Paintjet 300XL printer.)

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
Today, printers seem to resemble cameras and hi-fi gear, being
"updated" or replaced every few months. As their advertisements all
boast large numbers of pages per cartridge, how realistic is it of me
to suppose that, after some time, a perfectly serviceable printer will
outlast the supply of toner cartridges and thus become junk?
Is there a sort'v legal requirement imposed on manufacturers to
support their hardware with consumables for a minimum time?
Click to expand...

It depends on where you are, as laws vary by country and locality. I
believe in California consumables are required to be sold for seven years
after the last printer of that model is sold. I know that for HP you can
still buy inkjet cartridges for the Thinkjet printer introduced a couple
decades ago as well as practically any other HP inkjet ever produced. (The
only exception I know of was the Paintjet 300XL printer.)

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging[/QUOTE]

If anyone in the UK reads this, would *you* know?
 
I suspect that this 7-year law has fallen by the wayside. As far as I
know, replacement batteries are not available for Panasonic shavers,
such as the one that I paid around $100 for. I don't see any offered for
sale, and it's conspicuously missing from my owner's manual.

In the case of a personal cassette player/FM radio (also, not a cheap
throw-away, or so I thought) that I wanted to have my technician modify
in order to remove a manufactured-in hum from an otherwise perfectly
good, I asked for a schemetic diagram. Panasonic replied that there was
no service literature for the product because "...it is un-repairable."

Yeah, right.

Richard
 
Richard Steinfeld said:
I suspect that this 7-year law has fallen by the wayside. As far as I
know, replacement batteries are not available for Panasonic shavers,
such as the one that I paid around $100 for. I don't see any offered for
sale, and it's conspicuously missing from my owner's manual.

In the case of a personal cassette player/FM radio (also, not a cheap
throw-away, or so I thought) that I wanted to have my technician modify
in order to remove a manufactured-in hum from an otherwise perfectly
good, I asked for a schemetic diagram. Panasonic replied that there was
no service literature for the product because "...it is un-repairable."

Yeah, right.

Richard
Click to expand...

There's a lot of that around but in my experience not so in the printer
business so far as cartridges are concerned. There are very few printers (laser
and ink) that we are asked to provide cartridges for that we are unable to. All
of those printers are more than 10 years old. I have to say however that in a
few cases the cost of a cartridge is such that the customer would be wise to
consider replacing the printer and that often applies to newer printers as well
as the older ones! But with respect to your point about repairing items you are
absolutely correct, very few current entry to mid range printers are worth
repairing and in many cases parts are simply unavailable.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
Richard Steinfeld said:
I suspect that this 7-year law has fallen by the wayside. As far as I
know, replacement batteries are not available for Panasonic shavers,
such as the one that I paid around $100 for. I don't see any offered for
sale, and it's conspicuously missing from my owner's manual.

In the case of a personal cassette player/FM radio (also, not a cheap
throw-away, or so I thought) that I wanted to have my technician modify
in order to remove a manufactured-in hum from an otherwise perfectly
good, I asked for a schemetic diagram. Panasonic replied that there was
no service literature for the product because "...it is un-repairable."

Yeah, right.

Richard
Click to expand...

There's a lot of that around but in my experience not so in the printer
business so far as cartridges are concerned. There are very few printers (laser
and ink) that we are asked to provide cartridges for that we are unable to. All
of those printers are more than 10 years old. I have to say however that in a
few cases the cost of a cartridge is such that the customer would be wise to
consider replacing the printer and that often applies to newer printers as well
as the older ones! But with respect to your point about repairing items you are
absolutely correct, very few current entry to mid range printers are worth
repairing and in many cases parts are simply unavailable.
Tony
MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
Some countries have such legislation, some do not. It is advantageous
to companies to continue to produce cartridges as long as the demand is
high enough to be profitable.

Art
 
Tony wrote:

snip
There's a lot of that around but in my experience not so in the printer
business so far as cartridges are concerned. There are very few printers (laser
and ink) that we are asked to provide cartridges for that we are unable to.
Click to expand...

See He is in da business so be carfeful of any advice he gives.


snip
 
[drivel snipped]
...as he clearly says. So... your problem is, caller?
Click to expand...

Please do not feed the troll. Put him in your killfile and never, ever
respond. The only time many of us see the troll's postings are when people
feel the need to reply.

- Bob Headrick
 
Arthur Entlich said:
Some countries have such legislation, some do not. It is advantageous to
companies to continue to produce cartridges as long as the demand is high
enough to be profitable.
Click to expand...

And in some cases long beyond when a cartridge remains profitable based only
on its sales. Good will is also a factor. I know of cases where cartridges
were still manufactured when volumes reached a point where a month's demand
would fit in the trunk of my small car :-).

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
I suspect that this 7-year law has fallen by the wayside. As far as I
know, replacement batteries are not available for Panasonic shavers,
such as the one that I paid around $100 for. I don't see any offered for
sale, and it's conspicuously missing from my owner's manual.

In the case of a personal cassette player/FM radio (also, not a cheap
throw-away, or so I thought) that I wanted to have my technician modify
in order to remove a manufactured-in hum from an otherwise perfectly
good, I asked for a schemetic diagram. Panasonic replied that there was
no service literature for the product because "...it is un-repairable."

Yeah, right.

Richard
Click to expand...

Service parts are a different thing than consumables.
 
There's a lot of that around but in my experience not so in the printer
business so far as cartridges are concerned. There are very few printers (laser
and ink) that we are asked to provide cartridges for that we are unable to. All
of those printers are more than 10 years old. I have to say however that in a
few cases the cost of a cartridge is such that the customer would be wise to
consider replacing the printer and that often applies to newer printers as well
as the older ones!
Click to expand...

Let's give it a try - what's the cost for an Apple LaserWriter?
Martin
 
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