The International Imaging Technology Council is accusing HP of violating EPEAT 2.0 sustainability standards by issuing firmware updates that disable third-party ink cartridges, a practice HP calls Dynamic Security. The new EPEAT 2.0 registry explicitly prohibits such firmware updates that "brick" remanufactured cartridges, aiming to promote product sustainability and circularity.
The council, representing aftermarket cartridge companies, has a potential bias but echoes longstanding criticism from customers and experts. HP's practice is now under scrutiny for conflicting with the updated environmental criteria, which mandate that registered products must not prevent the use of remanufactured cartridges.
Main topics: HP's firmware updates blocking third-party ink, the EPEAT 2.0 environmental registry and its new rules, and the criticism from the International Imaging Technology Council.
Members of the International Imaging Technology Council (Int’l ITC) are calling out HP for issuing firmware updates that brick third-party ink and toner functionality in its printers. HP calls this Dynamic Security and has been doing it for years; however, the Int’l ITC is taking new issue with the practice, considering that it is explicitly prohibited for devices registered under the General Electronics Council’s (GEC’s) Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) 2.0 registry.
The Int’l ITC is a nonprofit trade group that says it represents North American “toner and inkjet cartridge re-manufacturers, component suppliers, and cartridge collectors.”
It’s important to note that the Int’l ITC may be considered biased because its members could greatly profit when printer manufacturers commit to supporting aftermarket cartridges in devices.
Still, customers and security experts have long criticized Dynamic Security, making the Int’l ITC’s complaints worth examining.
EPEAT 2.0 registry bans firmware updates that brick third-party ink
Following the launch of the original EPEAT registry in 2006, GEC launched EPEAT 2.0 in December 2025. Per a GEC website, “EPEAT 2.0 criteria are designed to identify more sustainable products, built by sustainability-conscious companies with responsibly managed supply chains.” The updated criteria addresses “climate change mitigation, sustainable use of resources (circularity), chemicals of concern, and responsible supply chains” across the lifecycle of products from five product categories: imaging equipment (such as printers), computers and displays, phones, servers, and TVs.
The GEC’s criteria for EPEAT 2.0 registration [PDF] includes a more user and environmentally friendly approach to third-party ink and toner. It states: “Manufacturer shall ensure registered products do not prevent the use of remanufactured cartridges, either manufacturer or non-manufacturer branded, by implementing one or more” of three options.
The first option requires manufacturers to refrain “from issuing firmware updates that intentionally disable remanufactured cartridges that, at the time of the firmware update, use aftermarket electronic circuitry to operate with the registered product’s then-current manufacturer firmware.”
The second option requires printer companies to make “available a manufacturer approved solution using unmodified original manufacturer electronic circuitry that ensures registered products permit the uninterrupted use of remanufactured cartridges” and don’t prevent key functionality.
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