---
title: Why Canon is telling people to ignore its warnings
description: Printer companies use DRM chips to make customers buy their cartridges. But now, we’re in a chip shortage.
---

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# [Why Canon is telling people to ignore its warnings](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/01192022-canon)

 Written by [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) | Jan 19, 2022 9:04:11 AM

The chip shortage has claimed another victim. This time, it’s printer companies that want to make you use branded ink cartridges.

#### **It’s all about a little thing called a DRM chip**

[Digital rights management](https://www.toolbox.com/it-security/identity-access-management/articles/what-is-digital-rights-management/) (DRM) is tech that controls how someone can access or use content. Examples include software you can’t use until you enter a key, and streaming apps that won’t let you take screenshots.

In the case of printers, many companies — including [Epson](https://www.vice.com/en/article/pa98ab/printer-makers-are-crippling-cheap-ink-cartridges-via-bogus-security-updates) and [HP](https://www.wired.com/2016/09/hp-printer-drm/) — use DRM chips in their ink cartridges.

Customers who try to use cheaper, 3rd-party cartridges may get ominous warning messages or find they can’t print at all without a workaround, like downloading [old firmware](https://gizmodo.com/one-year-after-bricking-third-party-ink-with-update-hp-1809073739).

#### **Enter the big chip shortage**

Canon has been selling cartridges without the chips because, well, there aren’t any.

So now, some users are being warned about possible malfunctions when they try to print. Canon’s solution? Just ignore it, [per](https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20220110/06555048260/chip-shortage-forces-canon-to-issue-workarounds-own-obnoxious-drm.shtml) *Techdirt*. That’s it.

Canon is also being [sued](https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21087478/123118208417.pdf) over its “All-in-One” printers, which allegedly refuse to let users scan or fax if the ink cartridge is low or empty, so perhaps it’s time to rethink some things.

**Fun fact:** Keurig once tried to do the same thing with its coffee pods. Customers [hated it](https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7986327/keurigs-attempt-to-drm-its-coffee-cups-totally-backfired).

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/01192022-canon)

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