You just have to be careful as the printer companies often pull similar stunts with laser toners as well. Our Brother laser printer stopped printing several years ago with an "out of toner" error. After applying a strip of gaffer tape across the sensor, it printed roughly a further 1,500 pages before the toner actually started to become patchy.
I've had similar experiences at work with HP colour laser printers insisting the toner is empty when it is anything but. Simple and uncomfortable truth is that consumer printers don't generate much profit for the manufacturers, so they make it all back with consumables - and this includes many laser printers too.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
