[Jo Jo]

I bought an HP Photosmart C5180 in the UK, which was working fine here until I needed to replace the yellow ink cartridge. I bought the correct cartridge (Vivera 02) and just tried to install it, and have just found out it won't work because the ink cartridges are regionalised. :mad: Grrrrr.... I am so cross.

Has anyone got any ideas how I can get round this? I have tried changing the region setting on the printer itself, but that doesn't make a difference. I've replaced all six ink cartridges with the new ones - still no difference. I have tried contacting HP but they are closed until tomorrow...

Any ideas?

Cheers.

[benandclare]

We had similar problem with our Epson, the man in Cartridge World told us that the NZ chip is different to UK chip and he have problems filling the spurious one we had and that we 'd be better off gettin some original Epsons shipped so he could re-fill those ones.

had a look on trade me and found company that imports cartridges from Germany for Epson printers so bought complete set for 35 NZD , will be cheaper still next time as I can deal direct with them..and they work a treat

They are based in Chch, http://seabrightnz.com/

[IanW99]

I bought an HP Photosmart C5180 in the UK, which was working fine here until I needed to replace the yellow ink cartridge. I bought the correct cartridge (Vivera 02) and just tried to install it, and have just found out it won't work because the ink cartridges are regionalised. :mad: Grrrrr.... I am so cross.

Has anyone got any ideas how I can get round this? I have tried changing the region setting on the printer itself, but that doesn't make a difference. I've replaced all six ink cartridges with the new ones - still no difference. I have tried contacting HP but they are closed until tomorrow...

Any ideas?

Cheers.

Sorry, looks like you will need to talk to HP.

Kim Holm, the European HP executive who oversaw the start last year of region-coding for printers and their replaceable ink cartridges, said the reason was to help the company better set prices and thus help consumers know how much it would cost to print with HP products. The company has gone from adjusting global prices six or eight times a year to twice a year.

All new HP ink-jet printers, except those designed to be portable, are regionalized. With them, ink cartridges bought outside the region won't work. A customer who moves outside an area can, however, call HP support to find out how to manually change the region coding on the printer.

BTW, which office have you tried talking to as they are a global company you may be able to locate support in a region that are open?

Ian

[Jo Jo]

Thanks for the replies. I was trying to contact HP in NZ, but if I can't get in touch with them tomorrow will try HP elsewhere.

I am so cross about this because nowhere on the box or in the manual or on the cartridges does it say the ink is region specific. I only found out by searching and searching HP's website, then googling like mad.

What makes me even crosser is that not only does the manual omit to mention the tiny detail of the printer not working in other regions, but it appears that it actually gives false information about the ink cartridges, i.e. it says when you first set up the printer you must use the cartridges provided in the box as they contain special ink that mixes with the ink that is already in the printer, or some tosh like that, but it appears that the reason you have to use those cartridges is that they provide the region coding in the first place. And, AND, it says in the manual that HP recommends you use HP ink, but what it doesn't tell you is that it is impossible to use any ink other than HP ink - you could in theory get the cartridges refilled by someone, but the cartridges are built to self-destruct after two years. Well, not quite, but after two years from their first use they won't work anymore, according to the geeky IT forums I've been reading today.

It's a sad state of affairs when your printer is more bolshie than you are.

[IanW99]

Thanks for the replies. I was trying to contact HP in NZ, but if I can't get in touch with them tomorrow will try HP elsewhere.

I am so cross about this because nowhere on the box or in the manual or on the cartridges does it say the ink is region specific. I only found out by searching and searching HP's website, then googling like mad.

What makes me even crosser is that not only does the manual omit to mention the tiny detail of the printer not working in other regions, but it appears that it actually gives false information about the ink cartridges, i.e. it says when you first set up the printer you must use the cartridges provided in the box as they contain special ink that mixes with the ink that is already in the printer, or some tosh like that, but it appears that the reason you have to use those cartridges is that they provide the region coding in the first place. And, AND, it says in the manual that HP recommends you use HP ink, but what it doesn't tell you is that it is impossible to use any ink other than HP ink - you could in theory get the cartridges refilled by someone, but the cartridges are built to self-destruct after two years. Well, not quite, but after two years from their first use they won't work anymore, according to the geeky IT forums I've been reading today.

It's a sad state of affairs when your printer is more bolshie than you are.

I still can't believe that they make the cartridges stop working after two years even if you haven't even opened them. This means that you need to check on the use by date when you buy them to make sure that they are fresh enough.

Best advice is to buy a printer from an other manufacturer (except Epson who are just as bad)

I did read on one of the forums that you can only change your region 3 times (not sure I believe this).

BTW, did you price up ordering the cartridges from abroad to see if they are cheaper than buying in NZ?

Ian

[Jo Jo]

I still can't believe that they make the cartridges stop working after two years even if you haven't even opened them. This means that you need to check on the use by date when you buy them to make sure that they are fresh enough.

Best advice is to buy a printer from an other manufacturer (except Epson who are just as bad)

I did read on one of the forums that you can only change your region 3 times (not sure I believe this).

BTW, did you price up ordering the cartridges from abroad to see if they are cheaper than buying in NZ?

Ian

Yes, I was a bit surprised by the cartridges only working for 2 years, too, though this is one thing they DO mention in the manual (which, based on the rest of it means it probably isn't true). On one of the forums I read today it said the printer date stamps the cartridges when you put them in, which I didn't believe they could do, but as my printer won't let me put in NZ cartridges I'm beginning to think anything is possible.

I'm going to look into the cost of cartridges from abroad, though I'll have to find out exactly which countries are in the same region as the UK, which probably rules out a lot of cheap countries. *sigh*

Oh well, I shall carry on using my trusty old printer, which I should be able to get consumables for here, and then when that gives up the ghost buy a new one (not HP, not Epsom - thanks for the tip - and not Lexmark, as they're crap too).

It's such a shame as I really like HP printers - the quality is excellent.

[Jo Jo]

I have finally sorted my printer out! I got around the problem initially by getting friends from the UK to bring me a replacement cartridge, but when another started running out thought I'd better get this sorted. I was on the phone to HP for an HOUR. You have to press all sorts of secret buttons and type in all sorts of new codes, and, annoyingly, I can't now finish off my UK cartridges as the printer doesn't recognise them.

But, at least I can use NZ printer inks now.