Canon can’t get enough toner chips, so it’s telling customers how to defeat its DRM

Enlarge (credit: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg)

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.

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