Background information
Fine Art Printing, Part 1 – basics and printers
by Samuel Buchmann
Chip shortage prompts Canon to remove DRM – but only on office printers
13.1.2022
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
Toner cartridges from Canon are now being supplied without digital copy protection. The ongoing semiconductor chip shortage is the reason for this. But what looks like a service to the public could be a clever move to maximise profits.
Insert a third-party toner cartridge into your Canon printer, and you’ll be greeted with an error message beginning with the words «cartridge not detected». The printer claims that the toner level can’t be detected. This error could be fixed by inserting an original Canon product.
With that, Digital Rights Management (DRM) on Canon office printers is history. At least for now.
Devices that can be freed from DRM
The first devices on which DRM can be removed are those in the ImageRunner series. These are large devices that are used mainly in offices.
Bypassing the DRM is easy: when the error message appears on the ImageRunner display, simply press «OK», «Continue» or «Agree».
Why should you do this?
Ink and toner cartridges are expensive. Printers, on the other hand, are cheap. Printer manufacturers like Canon don’t make their big bucks off the actual devices; profits arise from the sales of ink cartridges, or toner cartridges for laser printing. And these are expensive.
Here’s an example: a toner cartridge for a Canon ImageRunner Advance costs between 180 and 330 Swiss francs, depending on the colour.
Why manufacturers don’t want this
Similar mechanisms can be found in video games, music, and all sorts of apps; they make economic sense. If a manufacturer can bind its customers with the mechanism of «you must purchase our consumables for the device to work», then the device can be sold at a lower price, and the consumables at a higher one.
Here’s an example with Canon:
Why only office printers are freed from DRM
Canon, just like any other company committed to profit, doesn’t want to lose customers. On the contrary, customers should ideally be tied to the company forever. DRM is a powerful means to achieve this goal.
While the subscription service is also available for private customers, it’s unlikely to be widespread.
The one thing worrying Canon are the error messages that may pop up on the printers. The result is annoyed customers and a potential burden on customer service.
A book tip to wrap things up
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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