HP sold about 220,000 printers in Australia with the euphemistically named “Dynamic Security Feature” (DSF). And while anything called a "security feature" sounds like a good thing, its purpose was to stop people from installing non-HP ink cartridges. As a result, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) has told HP, through a court-enforceable undertaking to compensate customers who were unable to use non-HP ink cartridges due to an undisclosed technology in their printers.

Get those face-palms ready folks. About the same time last year, HP pushed out a firmware update for its inkjet printers that blocked the use of third-party cartridges. This did not go down well with anyone and within a month, the company removed the block and we all moved on. Except HP of course, which appears to have done it again.

Canon has released the Pixma Endurance G4600 printer in Australia which ditches the cartridge in favour of refillable ink tanks. Here are the details.

Google runs a Cloud Print service that can make any printer, internet-enabled or not, accessible from over the web. If there's a printer you need to get at from anywhere, whether on a computer, tablet or phone, here's how to get it set up.

Last week, we reported that HP had released firmware for some of its inkjet printers that blocked the use of replacement third-party replacement ink cartridges. Consumer advocacy group CHOICE even launched an investigation into whether HP broke Australian Consumer Laws with this move. Now HP has come out to apology to customers, not for making its printers unusable with unofficial cartridges, but for not being upfront about it. The company also plans to release firmware to remove the block on third-party catridges. Here are the details.

It seems that HP released a firmware for it's inkjet printers that prevents the use of replacement cartridges that aren't manufactured by the vendor. Read on to find out more.

Dear Lifehacker, Constantly having problems with my wireless printer not connecting. It keeps saying that my WS printer is not connected. Apparently this is a very common problem with Windows 10 but I can't find any reliable workarounds. Do you know of any reputable fixes that don't require a computer tech to fix??

If you do a lot of printing, the Arial font can use up your ink a lot faster than others. Here are three fonts you're better off using.

The Epson WorkForce ET-4550 EcoTank is a new inkjet printer that eliminates the need for ink cartridges. Instead, it comes with an assortment of pour-in ink bottles that purportedly last for up to two years. We put it to the test to find out whether a cartridge-free printer can deliver on speed and print quality. Read on for the full review.

Back in the good old days we used pen and paper in classrooms. They were the essential learning tools. Now it's commonplace to see students take a laptop to class, tapping away to take notes. But which method is superior when it comes to studying? A new piece of research commissioned by Canon claims to have the answer.

If you've got a spare printer ink cartridge and a document you only want one person to see—or just some free time and a cloak-and-dagger kick—one helpful Metacafe post has a project for you. The tutorial requires a utility knife, some invisible ink pens and a syringe, and an empty ink cartridge, with black seeming to be an easier solution that the yellow-only solution the creator recommends. It's a fun way to cover up sensitive documents, and a guaranteed friend impresser as well. How Make Invisible Printer Ink

Need some lined paper for note-taking, graph paper for drawing, or bi-colour paper for budgets? Printable Paper has you covered, assuming you've got access to a printer. All of the many, many templates are free and available in PDF format, and go far beyond 8.5 x 11 sheets to business cards, receipts and invoices, and beyond. Good starting point for making your own templates, or a good bookmark for those moments where one sheet can hold you over. Printable Paper

Save some system resources and share multiple printers between more than one machine by recycling that old "junk" system sitting in your garage into a dedicated print server. eHow has a step by step tutorial that takes you through exactly what you need to do to accomplish this; the process is a bit lengthy, but well worth it if you share printer resources. FYI, this also frees up counter space since your printer can be wherever you want it with this setup—and it will work even more efficiently if you network your printers.

How to Build a Print Server From an Old Computer