You might think that Hewlett-Packard's most important source of revenue is artificial intelligence computers or cheap laptops. You are wrong.
More than half of HP's annual profits last year came entirely from its printing division, thanks to an upgrade to Dynamic Security printer firmware that completely blocked all third-party ink cartridges.
So today another class action lawsuit was filed, alleging that HP has created a monopoly on printer inks.
Such as he says According to Ars Technica, the lawsuit asks that HP be ordered to disable Dynamic Security, allowing owners to use non-HP replacement ink cartridges.
Oh, and there's also the small matter of over $5 million in damages…
This is not the first legal case against HP regarding how the company's inkjet printers react to third-party cartridges. HP has already paid significant sums to settle such lawsuits and compensate users who cannot use their printers.
But none of this has dampened HP's love for Dynamic Security and its plans for subscription ink cartridges. Consumers around the world are printing less and less each year, so HP and other printer makers are turning to somewhat more authoritarian methods to maintain revenue.
Dynamic Security was launched in 2016. Since then the company has paid over a million dollars to the EU in compensation, but shows no signs of changing its tactics. Certainly not when its CFO was “really proud” that it had managed to increase the printer division's profit margins. Branded inkjet cartridges have always been the main source of revenue in this sector, while the printer itself is sold at almost no profit.
In 2023, Hewlett Packard's printing business will bring in $18 billion in revenue and $3,34 billion in profit, so a few million dollars here or there to pay off the pipeline isn't a problem. Unfortunately for inkjet enthusiasts, this means that Dynamic Security is very unlikely to go away.
