Due to an ongoing global chip shortage, Canon is having difficulty obtaining the chips attached to ink cartridges that confirm their legitimacy in its printers. As a result, it has to explain to customers how to bypass its own DRM.
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Canon Germany has issued a public statement on its website (which has apparently also been emailed to some customers) explaining that due to the lack of a chip, even official Canon ink could be considered counterfeit in some of its printers. As part of the statement, the company has issued instructions on how to bypass its own Digital Rights Management (DRM). The issue may extend beyond Canon Germany to other Canon Europe entities.
Here is Canon's statement, translated from German:
We value you as a customer and consistent user of Canon products.
Due to the persistent global shortage of semiconductor components, Canon is currently facing challenges in sourcing certain electronic components used in our consumables for our multifunction printers (MFPs). These components are used, for example, in features such as the detection of remaining toner level.
In order to ensure a continuous and reliable supply of consumables, we have decided to deliver consumables without semiconductor components until normal supply is restored.
There is no negative impact on print quality when using consumables without electronic components, but some additional functions, such as toner level detection, may be affected.
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A total of 19 printer lines and multiple models within each are affected by the issue, and Canon has listed instructions on how to deal with the issue for each on its website, which is basically the official instruction for ignoring warnings in its own printer software.
The situation highlights what some see as the absurdity of DRM as Canon, which was recently sued for disabling the scanning function of its printers when ink cartridges are empty, now has to explain to customers how to bypass the methods it uses to scare customers into buying only official ink and that error messages to the contrary can effectively be ignored.
Louis Rossmann, a popular YouTuber, repair technician, and consumer rights advocate for tech products, says he really likes this set of events because it normalizes “OK” to an absurd error message.
“You shouldn’t be afraid to use third-party ink in your printer,” says Rossmann. “I’ve been using third-party ink in my printer for 25 years. If there’s one good thing about the global chip shortage, it’s that it devalues everything that companies try to push us to take for granted.”.
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Rossmann argues that Canon printers — or printers from any manufacturer — can maintain full functionality regardless of whether the ink placed in them is first-party or third-party, and that the warnings the company places in its software can be ignored without impacting print quality.
Information source: petapixel.com
