I won’t be buying an HP printer anytime soon

I am well known, in very small circles admittedly, that I have a love for Brother printers.

It’s not that they are cheaper or have a larger range or even that they are better made than other major brands.

My love for Brother stems from their software and how feature rich and Mac compatible it always has been. 

It is for the very opposite reasons that I now have a vendetta against HP.

Now, like all vendettas it needs to be understood that this is very likely a prejudice of mine possibly based on nothing more than my own sense of right and wrong.

Perhaps… lets see.

In my view the relationship between Mac and printer is a very straightforward one.

Printer is plugged into power. Ink is inserted. Software installed and it does everything the box says it will do. Simple.

However, of late, HP have changed this equation – and not for the better.

Now all printer software wants you to log into or sign up to their website, to record your name and email address in order to send you promotional material or have you sign up to some cloud service. 

It’s annoying but harmless because you can always click on the “not now” or “no” or “bugger off” button. However, HP seems to have taken this one step further and will not let you scan a document  – that is destined to be saved locally – unless you are signed up to their cloud service.

This is odious. Far reaching. Clawing. Obnoxiously obnoxious.

So as far as I am concerned an HP, unless you have no interest in scanning, is a non-starter.

For what it is worth, and the record, suggest…

Brother

Epson

Canon

… in that order.