HP Inc. has settled a class action lawsuit in which it was accused of unlawfully blocking customers from using third-party toner cartridges – a practice that left some with useless printers – but won’t pay a cent to make the case go away.
One of the named plaintiffs in the case is called Mobile Emergency Housing Corp (MEHC) and works with emergency management organizations and government agencies to provide shelters for disaster victims and first responders across the US and Caribbean.
According to court documents [PDF], MEHC bought an HP Color LaserJet Pro M254 in August 2019. In October 2020, the org used toner cartridges from third-party supplier Greensky rather than pay for HP’s premium-priced toner.
A month later, HP sent or activated a firmware update – part of its so-called “Dynamic Security” measures – rendering MEHC’s printers incompatible with third-party toner cartridges like those from Greensky.
When MEHC’s CEO Joseph James tried to print out a document, he got the following error message.
The same thing happened to another plaintiff, Performance Automotive, which purchased an HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw in 2018 and also installed a firmware update that prevented the machine from working when third-party toner cartridges were present.
HP is not shy about why it does this: In 2024 CEO Enrique Lores told the Davos World Economic Forum “We lose money on the hardware, we make money on the supplies.”
The company therefore works “to reduce unprofitable customers because every time a customer buys a printer it’s an investment for us. We’re investing in that customer.”
Incidentally, HP’s printing division reported $4.5 billion in net revenue in fiscal year 2024.
Lores has also argued that using third-party suppliers is a security risk, claiming malware could theoretically be slipped into cartridge controller chips. The Register is unaware of this happening outside a lab. He’s also pitched HP’s own gear as the greener choice, pointing to its cartridge recycling program.
MEHC, Performance Automotive, (and many readers) disagree and would like to choose their own toner.
Thus, a lawsuit was launched, but rather than fight its case in court, HP has, once again, chosen to settle the case privately with no admission of guilt.
“HP denies that it did anything wrong,” its settlement notice reads. “HP agrees under the Settlement to continue making certain disclosures about its use of Dynamic Security, and to continue to provide printer users with the option to either install or decline to install firmware updates that include Dynamic Security.”
But it’s clear HP is facing an increasing task in trying to convince people that it’s only right and fair that people pay for its toner rather than going to third parties to buy a product for a fraction of the cost. Increasingly, customers aren’t buying it – literally or figuratively.
HP had no comment at the time of publication. ®
