Hewlett-Packard might design its color laser printers to shut down and read "empty" even though significant amounts of printer toner remains in the toner cartridge.

This is an investigation and pending class action lawsuit against Hewlett-Packard Company. Hewlett-Packard offers consumers a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment, and from computing to home printing.

Hewlett-Packard allegedly sold color laser printers designed to cease all operation and appear empty while substantial toner remains in the toner cartridges. As a result, the consumer is deprived of the use of the toner that he or she purchased and is compelled to purchase replacement toner from Hewlett-Packard sooner than is otherwise necessary. The class action lawsuit alleges that Hewlett-Packard's color laser printers are designed to indicate the toner cartridge is "empty", at which point the machine shuts down all printing operations until the supposedly empty toner cartridge is replaced, even though there is still a significant amount of toner in the cartridge. Additionally, Hewlett-Packard conceals from consumers that a significant amount of toner remains in the cartridge at the point the machine indicates the toner is "empty", thus causing consumers to prematurely purchase replacement cartridges and preventing them from using the remainder of the toner in the cartridge.