Can’t Use My HP Printer Wherever I Want
Here’s an interesting fact about HP printers cartridges, they are regionalized. This means that HP creates different printer cartridges for different regions of the world so that I cannot take the printer I own (here in the United States), go to Australia, buy cartridges there, put them in my printer, and expect it to work.
Put shortly, a printer bought in one region of the world will not recognize printer cartridges bought in another region.
So far as I can tell, HP has established seven different world region markets (European, UK, Latin American, North American, Asian-Pacific, Western Hemisphere, and Mexico). Printers produced for these regions are programmed to only recognize cartridges produced for these regions as well. If you try to use a printer from one region and a cartridge from a different region, your printer will give you an error message. Your printer will be rendered useless until you can get cartridges that match its region.
The conspiracy theorists claim this is just another attempt by HP to make more money. They are holding those that want to roam the world, with their printer in tote, hostage. Huh? I have to think HP has a much better reason than this. Can anyone provide it?
For those that plan on moving to a different HP printer region soon, don’t worry to much. I did read a few stories of HP being able to “re-regionalize” a printer, you just need to contact their support center.
What do you think of HP’s printer and printer cartridge regionlization? Take a few seconds and let me know. Thanks!
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October 8th, 2010 at 11:37 am
It absolutely sucks! I bought a printer while I was at school in the UK, and when I came home I needed to buy some ink. I tried to regionalize the printer, and spent most of a day on the phone with HP trying to get the job done. but because I was out of my old ink cartridges, the fools couldn’t get the fact that my process was halted. They need a better system. The first time I called, the printer was in warranty. The second, it wasn’t. To this day, the printer doesn’t work.
October 11th, 2010 at 6:28 am
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Kayneisha. There has got to be a better way for HP to track, monitor, or support the sales of their printers and printer cartridges than regionalization. They should understand now, more than ever, that people are on the the move, which means their printers are on the move with them. If you are not relocating permanently, you might be traveling for business. Are you going to pack a spare set of printer cartridges along with all your clothes to make sure you can print?