Warning To Expats On The Move - Don't Buy Hp Printers

[Familyonthemove]

If like me you are an ex-pat who can live in one country for a while, then move on ..... do NOT buy an HP printer. I've just found out that HP uses regional coding on their printer cartridges in the same way that DVD movies have regional coding to protect differential pricing between Europe and US.

I have a C3188 printer bought in India - it is identical to the C3180 available in Thailand, except you can't buy print cartridges for it in Thailand.

The cartridges in my Indian printer are numbered 854 and 850 and they look exactly the same as the number 93 and 92 cartridges for the Thai equivalent printer, but the printer recognises a difference, will not work and reports a fault.

I guess this is to protect the monopolistic situation that HP has in India, but it causes inconvenience to international travellers and smacks of 'big brother' anti-competitive practices.

I'm going to get the cartridges refilled until my next trip to India. But I'm also fitting out the office at work .... with Canon or Lexmark printers!

[niller74]

Have he printer modified to external Ink cartridges. This way you save a lot of money and can get refills everywhere. The price for that modification is usually 1000 THB

[wxpwzrd]

This practice is not unique to HP... Canon, Epson, Lexmark and probably all the majors regionalize their cartridges. I am going to be in Thailand soon and I am dumping my US printers before I leave. Personally, because I want the best quality from my inkjets there are 2 things i do not do... Use refilled cartridges and modify to use external ink. Your solution will depend on your individual requirements.

[Rice_King]

Have he printer modified to external Ink cartridges.

Below is a post from another forum by someone (not me) giving away a free HP printer. According to his post, HP printers should not be retrofitted with external ink tanks.

------------------Begin copied post---------------------------------------------------------------------

Free HP F4185 - Ink jet printer, scanner, color copier.

Yes, that's right; FREE -- just come and get it

Why free?

Because I'm fed-up with trying to refill the cartridges.

If you have more patience than I do, then this printer is yours.

But first, you should know the full story:

I bought this printer, brand new, in a sealed box, in November last year.

It worked perfectly, until I made a big mistake: I had ink-tanks installed.

This was done by Ink-Man: http://www.inkmanonline.com/

They warned me that HP printers were not suitable for ink tank systems, and it would leak.

I insisted.

The Tech did a careful, professional job.

I watched every step of the process.

It worked great for about a week.

Then it started leaking.

A messy puddle of black ink under the printer.

So I pulled the ink tank system out, and went back to original HP cartridges.

As long as I kept buying original HP cartridges, it worked like a charm.

But HP original cartridges are expensive: 500 baht, or more, each.

So I tried to refill them.

Sometimes the refills would work, sometimes leak or smear, sometimes wouldn't print at all.

Yesterday the black cartridge ran out of ink.

I refilled it, but it wouldn't print.

Enough!

Today I bought an Epson printer -- as first recommended by the InkMan tech.

I should have listened to him in the first place.

------------------End copied post---------------------------------------------------------------------

[Familyonthemove]

Thanks for the posts on converting the printer ....

I've attached the reply from HP about the issue..... Unfortunately my Thai is too weak to explain the problem on the phone, and the English speaking people on the Helpdesk had no idea what I was talking about. But at least they tried to help out. Of course not 'regionalising' printers in the first place would be more helpful! Anyone know of a non-regionalised printer .... as my HP is going in the bin - which environmentally is a crime.

Thank you for contacting HP Customer Care.

I understand from your mail that you have purchased the HP Photosmart C3188 All-in-One in India and now you have moved to Thailand. You are unable to use the cartridges available in Thailand.I will definitely assist you regarding the issue and will do my best to provide you with all the information to resolve the issue.

Peter, the HP Photosmart C3188 all-in-one unit is a regionalized printer. That is all the countries are divided into different zones. You will be able to use the cartridges only from the zone where the unit was purchased. To use the cartridges available for the unit in different zone, you need to change the regional settings on the unit. The regional setting change is highly complicated and can be done only a maximum of three times. I would recommend calling the number given below to change the regional setting on the unit.

(662) 353-9000

8:30am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays)

[dingdongrb]

Have he printer modified to external Ink cartridges. This way you save a lot of money and can get refills everywhere. The price for that modification is usually 1000 THB

I have the same problem with an HP printer I bought in China and have now brought it to use in LOS. I cannot find the cartridges designed for this printer in LOS. You say to modify it for approx 1000 baht, I am just going to toss it and buy a new printer in LOS as 1000 is almost the price of a new printer these days. They bend you over and make you grab your ankles for the pricing on the replacement cartridges and practically give the printers away.

[Familyonthemove]

Update: An engineer from HP phoned me back and talked me through the process to change the regional settings. You have to print out the set up codes and email them to a secret HP bunker in the US. They then send you a secret, secret code that you can only enter after left-clicking on the secret HP logo in the paper size screen (I kid you not!).

So my printer can only use Thai cartridges now .... but at least it works.

[mgjackson69]

If like me you are an ex-pat who can live in one country for a while, then move on ..... do NOT buy an HP printer. I've just found out that HP uses regional coding on their printer cartridges in the same way that DVD movies have regional coding to protect differential pricing between Europe and US.

I have a C3188 printer bought in India - it is identical to the C3180 available in Thailand, except you can't buy print cartridges for it in Thailand.

The cartridges in my Indian printer are numbered 854 and 850 and they look exactly the same as the number 93 and 92 cartridges for the Thai equivalent printer, but the printer recognises a difference, will not work and reports a fault.

I guess this is to protect the monopolistic situation that HP has in India, but it causes inconvenience to international travellers and smacks of 'big brother' anti-competitive practices.

I'm going to get the cartridges refilled until my next trip to India. But I'm also fitting out the office at work .... with Canon or Lexmark printers!

In all fairness to HP...were you ever told or led to believe that you could substitute ink cartridges? Surely the documentation spelled out the requirement for the 854 and 850 cartridges, did it not? Just because a cartridge "looks the same" does not mean it will work. I have the FC2180 and FC2120, which by my plan use the same cartridges. Now, I can go to Tesco Lotus or Big C and see many genuine HP cartridges that "look the same", but am I just going to buy one and expect it to work in my printer...not likely.

HP also does not recommend the use of refilled cartridges, or other modifications to the printer. Those more cynical will say "that is just so HP can sell consumables". While that might be part of it, the overriding concern on the part of HP is that the printer provides satisfactory results...so as not to have bad publicity such as this thread.

For all of you who are refilling cartridges....som num nah.

I have no idea about the price point of the printer in question...but I think I would have given it to an acquantance in India rather than hauling it to Thailand.

And as far as fitting out the office....why would you not consider HP? Are you planning on shipping those printers around the world also?

[dingdongrb]

In all fairness to HP...were you ever told or led to believe that you could substitute ink cartridges? Surely the documentation spelled out the requirement for the 854 and 850 cartridges, did it not? Just because a cartridge "looks the same" does not mean it will work. I have the FC2180 and FC2120, which by my plan use the same cartridges. Now, I can go to Tesco Lotus or Big C and see many genuine HP cartridges that "look the same", but am I just going to buy one and expect it to work in my printer...not likely.

HP also does not recommend the use of refilled cartridges, or other modifications to the printer. Those more cynical will say "that is just so HP can sell consumables". While that might be part of it, the overriding concern on the part of HP is that the printer provides satisfactory results...so as not to have bad publicity such as this thread.

For all of you who are refilling cartridges....som num nah.

I have no idea about the price point of the printer in question...but I think I would have given it to an acquantance in India rather than hauling it to Thailand.

And as far as fitting out the office....why would you not consider HP? Are you planning on shipping those printers around the world also?

I don't care where I bought the printer but since HP products are all over the world I would expect them to have replacement cartridges all over the world as well.... How would you like it if you bought a Honda Jazz in Chiang Mai, then moved to BKK taking the car with you and found out you couldn't buy tires for it in BKK but had to go back to CM for new tires?

PS... I bought my HP printer in China since I lived and worked there for 2 years. Now I have been relocated to Thailand and brought my useless printer with me since my company paid for all my moving expenses. If I were paying for my own moving expenses I might have considered selling the printer in China and buying a new one after I relocated in Thailand. (Or if I had known of the problem that was going to occur.)

[Familyonthemove]

If like me you are an ex-pat who can live in one country for a while, then move on ..... do NOT buy an HP printer. I've just found out that HP uses regional coding on their printer cartridges in the same way that DVD movies have regional coding to protect differential pricing between Europe and US.

I have a C3188 printer bought in India - it is identical to the C3180 available in Thailand, except you can't buy print cartridges for it in Thailand.

The cartridges in my Indian printer are numbered 854 and 850 and they look exactly the same as the number 93 and 92 cartridges for the Thai equivalent printer, but the printer recognises a difference, will not work and reports a fault.

I guess this is to protect the monopolistic situation that HP has in India, but it causes inconvenience to international travellers and smacks of 'big brother' anti-competitive practices.

I'm going to get the cartridges refilled until my next trip to India. But I'm also fitting out the office at work .... with Canon or Lexmark printers!

In all fairness to HP...were you ever told or led to believe that you could substitute ink cartridges? Surely the documentation spelled out the requirement for the 854 and 850 cartridges, did it not? Just because a cartridge "looks the same" does not mean it will work. I have the FC2180 and FC2120, which by my plan use the same cartridges. Now, I can go to Tesco Lotus or Big C and see many genuine HP cartridges that "look the same", but am I just going to buy one and expect it to work in my printer...not likely.

HP also does not recommend the use of refilled cartridges, or other modifications to the printer. Those more cynical will say "that is just so HP can sell consumables". While that might be part of it, the overriding concern on the part of HP is that the printer provides satisfactory results...so as not to have bad publicity such as this thread.

For all of you who are refilling cartridges....som num nah.

I have no idea about the price point of the printer in question...but I think I would have given it to an acquantance in India rather than hauling it to Thailand.

And as far as fitting out the office....why would you not consider HP? Are you planning on shipping those printers around the world also?

My issue is that it is the same ink cartridge. The 854 from India is the same as a 93 from Thailand .... in fact my now reset Indian printer is running on the Thai 93 cartridges. The printers have been designed with the capability to restrict their operation to cartridges supplied in specific markets. This can only be to allow differential pricing and the exploitation of monopoly situations. This is considered unethical in some countries.

Should HP have not warned their customers that their system to try and control the pricing in markets would make it difficult to source cartridges in other countries, even though suitable catridges are available there. The printer itself is made in Malaysia by the way, as are the cartridges ..... but they will not work in Malaysia as they are restricted to the Indian market.

There is simply no customer benefit that I can see from the application of software controls over the geography of printer cartridges. I would rather buy printers from a company that applied the same technological skills to benefit their customers.

[pampal]

stick to Laser printers

[Cal]

Yep. Laser is the solution.

[mgjackson69]

I don't care where I bought the printer but since HP products are all over the world I would expect them to have replacement cartridges all over the world as well.... How would you like it if you bought a Honda Jazz in Chiang Mai, then moved to BKK taking the car with you and found out you couldn't buy tires for it in BKK but had to go back to CM for new tires?

Of course I would not like that at all, but the OP is not talking about buying a printer in CMI and transplanting to BKK.

Using your example, if I had bought a Honda Jazz in Thailand before last year, then shipped it to USA (where that model has only been recently introduced as the Honda Fit), I would not expect the dealership to necessarily have any parts for it, or any knowledge of how to work on it, if it is not a model that is sold there.

This argument is not quite apples and oranges, perhaps apples and guava ;-)

Another poster mentioned that other printer manufacturers use this regional encoding methodology as well. So it seems that HP is getting a bad rap for a situation that is not unique to that company.

[Familyonthemove]

I don't care where I bought the printer but since HP products are all over the world I would expect them to have replacement cartridges all over the world as well.... How would you like it if you bought a Honda Jazz in Chiang Mai, then moved to BKK taking the car with you and found out you couldn't buy tires for it in BKK but had to go back to CM for new tires?

Of course I would not like that at all, but the OP is not talking about buying a printer in CMI and transplanting to BKK.

Using your example, if I had bought a Honda Jazz in Thailand before last year, then shipped it to USA (where that model has only been recently introduced as the Honda Fit), I would not expect the dealership to necessarily have any parts for it, or any knowledge of how to work on it, if it is not a model that is sold there.

This argument is not quite apples and oranges, perhaps apples and guava ;-)

Another poster mentioned that other printer manufacturers use this regional encoding methodology as well. So it seems that HP is getting a bad rap for a situation that is not unique to that company.

I don't see it like that all ....... if there was a practical reason such as lack of parts or service skills I would accept it ..... but deliberately adding controls to prevent free movement even though the parts and skills are available locally is a different matter. And just because others do something equally wrong - does not make it right.

[mgjackson69]

I don't care where I bought the printer but since HP products are all over the world I would expect them to have replacement cartridges all over the world as well.... How would you like it if you bought a Honda Jazz in Chiang Mai, then moved to BKK taking the car with you and found out you couldn't buy tires for it in BKK but had to go back to CM for new tires?

Of course I would not like that at all, but the OP is not talking about buying a printer in CMI and transplanting to BKK.

Using your example, if I had bought a Honda Jazz in Thailand before last year, then shipped it to USA (where that model has only been recently introduced as the Honda Fit), I would not expect the dealership to necessarily have any parts for it, or any knowledge of how to work on it, if it is not a model that is sold there.

This argument is not quite apples and oranges, perhaps apples and guava ;-)

Another poster mentioned that other printer manufacturers use this regional encoding methodology as well. So it seems that HP is getting a bad rap for a situation that is not unique to that company.

I don't see it like that all ....... if there was a practical reason such as lack of parts or service skills I would accept it ..... but deliberately adding controls to prevent free movement even though the parts and skills are available locally is a different matter. And just because others do something equally wrong - does not make it right.

For the most part I agree with you...but likely if you are buying any other make of printer you will run into the same issue.

It is not unique to HP, according to another post here...that is all I am saying.

[Hssl]

Another one to avoid is Lexmark just off to Tukcom to see if it can be fixed (1 month out of garentee)

Pile of junk which i must of spend more than the orginal cost of the thing on ink and carts!

[raro]

Yep. Laser is the solution.

correct!

I also have a HP ink printer and wanted it to be modified to external tanks as the cartridges were eating in my budget. About one cartridge a month, 800 Baht each. Technician at Tukcom said modification is not possible.

Bought a Lexmark c500 instead, 10,000 Baht at Tukcom. That was in October last year. This week I replaced for the first time the black toner, 4,400 Baht, and I am printing much more since I bought that laser printer as it is also so much faster, no more paper jams etc...

[alstaxi]

Another one to avoid is Lexmark just off to Tukcom to see if it can be fixed (1 month out of garentee)

Pile of junk which i must of spend more than the orginal cost of the thing on ink and carts!

Then buy a new one, ink jets are now disposable, same everwhere. new printer cheaper than ink, a no brainer.

[mgjackson69]

I have to agree with some other posters here...If you guys are printing that much, forget the inkjet....spend the money and go with laserjet.

Or, stop killing so many trees

[asiaman]

If like me you are an ex-pat who can live in one country for a while, then move on ..... do NOT buy an HP printer. I've just found out that HP uses regional coding on their printer cartridges in the same way that DVD movies have regional coding to protect differential pricing between Europe and US.

I have a C3188 printer bought in India - it is identical to the C3180 available in Thailand, except you can't buy print cartridges for it in Thailand.

The cartridges in my Indian printer are numbered 854 and 850 and they look exactly the same as the number 93 and 92 cartridges for the Thai equivalent printer, but the printer recognises a difference, will not work and reports a fault.

I guess this is to protect the monopolistic situation that HP has in India, but it causes inconvenience to international travellers and smacks of 'big brother' anti-competitive practices.

I'm going to get the cartridges refilled until my next trip to India. But I'm also fitting out the office at work .... with Canon or Lexmark printers!

My daughter lives in South Africa, and she tells me that when the ink cartridges run out, its cheaper to buy a new printer than a new cartridge...so maybe you're not too hard done by.