Do Inkjet cartridges expire?

[spinbaby]

Just spotted this article:

Lawsuit Says HP Printer Cartridges Die Before Use

11 minutes ago

 Technology - Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Georgia woman has sued Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - news), claiming the ink cartridges for their printers are secretly programed to expire on a certain date, in some cases rendering them useless before they are even installed in a printer.

The suit filed in Santa Clara Superior Court in northern California last Thursday seeks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased an HP inkjet printer since Feb. 2001. HP is the world's No. 1 computer printer maker.

(snip)

HP ink cartridges use a chip technology to sense when they are low on ink and advise the user to make a change. But the suit claims those chips also shut down the cartridges at a predetermined date regardless of whether they are empty.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=569&e=20&u=/nm/tech_hp_printers_dc
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Is this even technically possible? As an Inkjet owner, I'm VERY interested.

[Kelvin Mace]

1. Yes.

Nasty, isn't it.

[Jokerman]

2. They dry out.

If left unused they will dry out & become worthless.

[spinbaby]

3. What if they're sealed in the package?

Do they stay good if sealed?

[Angry Girl]

4. Well, it depends. Not always. My experience....

I recently bought a sealed, "new" non-imitation Lexmark cartridge on ebay.com and when I got it, although it was sealed the thing was totally dried out. (Not the seller's fault, how could they know? Besides, it was very cheap.)

The cartridge was at least a year or two old, because it was a packaging that Lexmark hadn't used in a while. But I was able to restore it by using the technique I describe in my thread here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=108189&mesg_id=108202

Good luck!

[BlueHandDuo]

5. My Canon cartridges dry out if I don't use them, but...

...this complaint is specifically about a chip being programmed to render the cartridge unusable.

It's a significant distinction. I've been able to get more use from a dried-up cartridge by sealing it overnight in a ziploc bag with a paper towel soaked in isopropyl alcohol. Wouldn't be able to do that if the cartridge was suicide-chipped.

[Az]

6. Its worse than you imagine

Most new printers have sensors built in that detect the number of prints a particular cartridge has been used for. The manufacturers have calculated the life span they want a given cartridge to be good for. So based on the count of the cartridge it will send a signal to the computer that it is low. This count is independent of the actual amount of ink left in the cartridge.

This creates a situation where you not able to nurse a cartridge along as easily. Refilling becomes problematic. And the manufacturer gains a little more control of the consumer.

All praise our Corporate leaders and their wisdom.

[Jokerman]

7. Right on Target

I've dealt with a particularly crappy brand of ink jet that shuts down and refuses to print if any of the four ink wells reports as empty.

You can't even use what's left in the black cart if one of the others "needs replaced".

[denverbill]

8. Capitalism rocks!

It's all about competition and beating the competition with superior products and service and saving 5 cents on the cost of producing a widget.

(um, no, it's all about producing copyrightable crap that nobody can reproduce so you can sell it at an enormous markup(prescription drugs), or reducing competition by buying competitors, or giving customers less for their money without them realizing it, or purposely producing crap that breaks so that customers have to buy it more often)