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DRM Printer

Chip Shortage Has Canon Telling Customers How To Defeat Its DRM (arstechnica.com) 55

Posted by BeauHD from the we've-just-gone-full-circle dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: For years, printers have been encumbered with digital rights management systems that prevent users from buying third-party ink and toner cartridges. Printer companies have claimed that their chip-enabled cartridges can "enhance the quality and performance" of their equipment, provide the "best consumer experience," and "protect [the printers] from counterfeit and third-party ink cartridges." Left unsaid is the fact that requiring first-party cartridges also ensures a recurring revenue stream. It's an old business model -- Gillette sold its razor handles cheaply to sell more razors, for example -- and it's one that printer companies have enthusiastically embraced. Lexmark, HP, Canon, Brother, and others all effectively require users to purchase first-party ink and toner. To enforce the use of first-party cartridges, manufacturers typically embed chips inside the consumables for the printers to "authenticate." But when chips are in short supply, like today, manufacturers can find themselves in a bind. So Canon is now telling German customers how to defeat its printers' warnings about third-party cartridges.

"Due to the worldwide continuing shortage of semiconductor components, Canon is currently facing challenges in procuring certain electronic components that are used in our consumables for our multifunction printers (MFP)," a Canon support website says in German. "In order to ensure a continuous and reliable supply of consumables, we have decided to supply consumables without a semiconductor component until the normal supply takes place again." [...] The software on these printers comes with a relatively simple way to defeat the chip checks. Depending on the model, when an error message occurs after inserting toner, users can press either "I Agree," "Close," or "OK." When users press that button, the world does not end. Rather, Canon says users may find that their toner cartridge doesn't give them a low-toner warning before running empty. "Although there are no negative effects on print quality when consumables are used without electronic components, certain additional functions, such as the detection of the toner level, may be impaired," Canon's support site says.
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Chip Shortage Has Canon Telling Customers How To Defeat Its DRM More

Chip Shortage Has Canon Telling Customers How To Defeat Its DRM

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  • There aren’t enough chips for cannons nagware to pester people... Let’s hope this extends to HP, the day I can scan without having approved ink cartridges is the day I check to see if hell has frozen over.
    • That's what I like about my Kyocera, throw any random third-party toner cartridge in it, it reports "Original cartridge installed" and starts printing with it.

      • Several years ago, when I had gotten tired of paying through the nose for cartridges only to see them get dumped into head cleaning sponges until they overflowed and I had to throw the whole printer away, I invested $300 in a Brother DCP-J1100DW. That's way more expensive than other printers because it's one of the rare exceptions that isn't sold at a loss to make money from cartridges. It doesn't clean its print heads before a scan job or any other funny business like that, it just does what it's supposed

        • Yeah, that's why the best option for printers is to buy end-of-contract business-grade ones where the costs were up-front paid by someone else, as long as you can check the page count to make sure you're not getting one that's been thrashed to within an inch of its life. My Kyocera is a second-hand workgroup printer rated for a monthly duty cycle higher than I've put through it in its lifetime. Not quite as good as the ex-law-office Xerox Document Centre a friend of mine picked up that had done under a th

  • ! DRM (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Thelasko ( 1196535 ) on Monday January 10, 2022 @03:18PM (#62161797) Journal
    If pressing "OK" makes the printer work, it's not DRM.

    • I can just imagine the anti-circumvention DMCA lawsuit that would arise before the blanket permission was issued. By pressing OK, you have bypassed the digital security on the ink system. Please pay us $$$.

      • In Germany they can't do stuff like that

        • I'm in Germany. Is that why my HP laser/scanner told me one single time that I had inserted non-HP cartridges, but then continued to work without nagging? It also still reports low toner levels (unless I tell it to stop), and keeps working even when it's run out of toner. All things people in this thread are saying HP printers do not do.

          The one problem I have is the cheapskate ink I have won't fuse properly to glossy photo-paper, but I'm not sure I can blame HP for that.

          • Toner will not fuse to glossy photo paper. Right? Just seems like the melted wax needs something to absorb deeply into.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Yeah, they aren't HP.

    • But it certainly is a DN - Digital Nuisance.

      And let's not forget this nuisance will steer incospicuous users - virtually every user who still needs to print - towards thinking they're doing something wrong when using non-OEM cartriges. Which in the end acts kind of like DRM, focing them to use genuine, overpriced ones for reasons that aren't legitimate.

      • It is probably better for the clueless users to stick with OEM toner. Third party stuff can be hit or miss, and if you paid a supplier for OEM, you'd want to know you're not getting counterfeit stuff that will mess up with your toner transport and fuser mechanism.

        • Most third-party cartridges used to be recycled OEM refilled with ink. Problem is some of these companies started including mechanisms that prevented refilling at some point. If there's breaking involved, it is certainly induced by OEMs

      • Have you seen the actual "error" message ?

        A toner cartridge with the wrong item number is inserted. If this toner cartridge is used, remaining toner information cannot be detected properly.
        A cartridge that is not a Canon product may be inserted. For information about toner cartridge item numbers, refer to Check Item Number. To use this cartridge, press [I Agree]

         So it's not DRM indeed, and it is not even misleading for users using non-EOM cartridge.

        • I agree to disagree. I think any barrier that is persistent is statistically effective for what these companies want to do: steer users to using their cartridges. It's exactly the same as Windows is doing with Edge (and did before with IE), except printer makers are showing this every damn time.

          • Why would a company *not* want to steer users toward using their cartridges? It's more profitable for the company since they are a high-margin item. And it also saves support costs when something goes wrong with a third-party cartridge. Some consumers will prefer third-party as a cost-saving measure. But if your print volume is high enough that this is significant maybe you should look at a solution designed for higher-volume printing.

            • I never said they didn't want to do it. I'm making a very clear statement that consumer protection agencies must make these companies *not* want to do this with fines. Hampering use so you can effectively place an "ad" to your product in the form of a persistant message that states "everyone else's product is maybe, likely worse" should be illegal. Or at least passive of a fine that makes them reconsider it.

              Sometimes the market doesn't work by itself, and regulators are lobbied to allow companies to do this

    • If pressing "OK" makes the printer work, it's not DRM.

      Except that pressing OK disables a functionality of the printer (low toner warning). Now that may be irrelevant to you, but it is none the less DRM.

  • I Quit Printing Years Ago (Score:5)

    by organgtool ( 966989 ) on Monday January 10, 2022 @03:29PM (#62161845)
    The printer companies were so effective at making their dying industry so expensive and inconvenient that I haven't owned a printer in well over a decade. My need to print became so sparse and inkjet cartridges dry up when they're not used regularly which made owning the printer far more hassle than it was worth. For the approximately two occasions per year that I need to print something, I use the printer at work or go to an office store. I have more space in my office and one less device that needs to be plugged in. At this point, I have no sympathy for the woes that they're solely responsible for creating.

    • I use the printer at work

      So you did not in fact, quit printing. This is what people did before personal printers became the norm.

      • I Quit Printing Years Ago...I use the printer at work

        So you did not in fact, quit printing.

        Next thing you know, OPs going to tell us how he doesn't even watch TV anymore (and that if there ever is anything interesting on he just goes to his buddies house to watch it).

    • Re:I Quit Printing Years Ago (Score:4)

      by flink ( 18449 ) on Monday January 10, 2022 @03:53PM (#62161907)

      I personally never print anything, but my wife is a real estate agent and the kids still need to print things for school fairly frequently, so we just invested in a middle of the road office grade color laser. The initial outlay was about $200 more than a good inkjet, but we've already saved more than that in ink cartridges. Buy once cry once.

      • Also the speed difference is one thing I try to point out to people. One of my friends wanted advice on what to do about her office inkjet printer. She was so frustrated about how slow it was especially when she needed to print out invoices for customers. There were a few options: Buy a 2nd inkjet to divide the work or forgo color and buy a BW laser printer. I told her if she really needed color she could still keep the inkjet but the laser one was so much faster. She was so much happier after she got the l

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by hazem ( 472289 )

          She could also work with a print shop to get the static color elements (logos, etc.) printed a ream at a time. Then she can feed those through a BW Laser for the dynamic content of the invoice. Essentially making letterhead.

          If she prints a lot of invoices, this can be the cheapest way to get color (and a shop with actual printing presses will do much nicer work than even a color laser printer).

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by jsonn ( 792303 )
            It really only makes sense if you use a proper offset printer for the letterhead. Otherwise you can run into nasty issues with the reheating of the paper allowing the old toner to scramble.

      • I personally never print anything, but my wife is a real estate agent and the kids still need to print things for school fairly frequently, so we just invested in a middle of the road office grade color laser. The initial outlay was about $200 more than a good inkjet, but we've already saved more than that in ink cartridges. Buy once cry once.

        I did something similar except I bought a Canon multifunction laser printer on sale for around ~$200 that I use cheap cartridges from Amazon. Never had a problem in the 8 or so years I've owned other than when they run a bit low I get streaking sometimes, but at a fraction of the price I can live with that. The only genuine Canon cartridge I have is one my wife's work supplied when she had to work from home.

    • The printer companies were so effective at making their dying industry so expensive and inconvenient that I haven't owned a printer in well over a decade. My need to print became so sparse and inkjet cartridges dry up when they're not used regularly which made owning the printer far more hassle than it was worth. For the approximately two occasions per year that I need to print something, I use the printer at work or go to an office store. I have more space in my office and one less device that needs to be plugged in. At this point, I have no sympathy for the woes that they're solely responsible for creating.

      Get a laserjet instead of an inkjet, it's a bit bigger and (initially) more expensive, but the toner doesn't dry out so printing 2x a year works fine.

      Unfortunately that doesn't make the printer drivers any less a PITA.

    • There are some cheap but decent black/white laser printers out there, for 200-250 Euro or US$ you should be able to get an entry level model. Kyocera for instance is a pretty good brand that has not been a DRM offender so far AFAIK.
      I have a Kyocera Ecosys FS-1300D that fits the above description and has been very reliable so far. Like you, I don't print much, but the toner cartridges last a lot longer than ink when not used much. I'm still on my first cartridge.

    • The printer companies were so effective at making their dying industry so expensive and inconvenient that I haven't owned a printer in well over a decade.

      In the last decade, many people have started paying attention to cartridge prices and the printer industry has started moving away from expensive ink cartridges.
      You can still get the cheap subsidized printers but if you're willing to pay a little more up front there are color laser printers and ecotank printers that take regular ink not cartridges.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vlad30 ( 44644 )
      We print very little, for archiving most documents pdf's are produced and filed, Then Lockdown and COVID suddenly the printer became more useful again. Usually in concert with the scanner as some forms required a real signature, Children doing something for school although this is one reason the printer has always existed.

    • One of the first things I did at the beginning of lockdown in 2020 was to buy a Canon A3 printer (IP8750), some good non-Canon ink, refill system, chip resetter, etc.

      This was for two reasons. In online teaching I use a camera pointing at a printed sheet (on which I can write) instead of a white board. This is either a document camera (A5) or a full field camera (A3). I wanted to be able print in colour. All we had was a B/W laser printer (HP 4100N), which is a good home office printer and gets lots of

    • I bought a Dell 1320C color laser 13 years ago. Its never given a problem.
      Just refill it with ebay cartridges that come with a third party toner chip. Haven't even needed to change the drums.

      I gave up on ink Jets 20 years ago after I spent more time unclogging and replacing heads than printing.

    • I use the printer at work or go to an office store.

      Pretty sure this article is about those exact printers, just saying.

    • I keep a basic Brother BW laser printer (2270DW) around. Wife is an accountant that likes paper copies and uses it a lot. It doesn't have any chips or anything and toner never dies up. It's really useful.

      I also have an HP OfficeJet MFC that is a great scanner. Really an amazing scanner; with a great web interface so so TWAIN drivers or anything!

      These printer companies can definitely still make money on consumables. Just keep it reasonable. If the knock off toner is $25 and the Brother toner is $35, I'd buy

  • My father in law works at another large printer manufacturer and they are doing something similar because they cannot fulfill supplies orders fast enough. They instituted stricter DRM (or DRM-like) controls to combat Chinese IP theft a few years ago, but now cannot keep up and their customers have no other recourse.

  • To enforce the use of first-party cartridges, manufacturers typically embed chips inside the consumables for the printers to "authenticate." But when chips are in short supply, like today, manufacturers can find themselves in a bind.

    I would take the USA left's claims to care about Climate Change far more seriously if all their proposals weren't the exact same corporate-taxation platform they've been pushing for 40 years. Among the many problems with taxation-as-behavioral-inducement, the biggest one is that money is always fungible. Corporations can absorb or offset direct taxation simply by raising prices or by growing even larger and using distributed business practices to move assets/liabilities around.

    If you believe the government

  • Just refill each colour tank when it runs low.

  • Since when did Brother actually DRM their toner? They were one of the few brands that didn't. Sure they did have a warning if you ran low on toner, but that was just a light that shone through the toner cartridge.

    Brother always tended to be one of the better brands in that regard since they let third parties pretty much do all the supplies after a few years.

    • Have had a few Brother printers (B&W / Color laser), for the most part they've been OK. Had a color one die last month, despite being in warranty, their support wouldn't talk to me without first reading off the serial numbers of the official Brother toner cartridges, leaving me in the position of buying 4 new cartridges just to continue troubleshooting the printer.

    • Since when did Brother actually DRM their toner?

      I have a brother printer. I bought one after listening to the small but dedicated army of fanbois on slashdot... and promptly joined their ranks. My printer (HL3170CDW) doesn't use the light, it appears to use some sort of counter that's reset when you change cartridges.

      Some third party carts can't reset the counter so wont "work" when you put them in after a cart runs out. However, you can manually reset the count with a lightly hidden menu option on the fron

    • Canon didn't chip their ink cartridges until a few years ago either. In fact I think they still don't chip most of their cartridges. They used to be pretty strong proponents of dumb, easy-to-use cartridges. Theirs were transparent so you could see how much ink was in them (their printers used an optical sensor to measure remaining ink, since that was much more accurate than guessing based on number of pages printed). And it was trivial to refill them with third party ink if you so desired. Not sure why they

  • Apparently, Canon has said just click anything and ignore the warning. That's not exactly a way of circumventing DRM.

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