Semiconductor shortages have forced Canon's hand, and it is abandoning the practice of adding copy protection chips to its toner cartridges, at least in some regions. Instead, to help its customers continue printing, Canon Germany has shared hints about swerving the warnings that will inevitably pop up with the chip-less carts. Twitterer Mario W says Canon is also sending out emails to registered customers of the affected printers.
At the time of writing, Canon.de support specifically says that consumables for a number of its ImageRunner series of multi-function printers (MFPs) will be affected by the chip shortage. However, these appear to be wholly laser / toner-based devices, so previous reports mentioning chip-less ink carts may not be entirely correct.
Canon's action under pressure might bring a wry smile to users who hate the idea of printer ink and toner that feature protection by security chips. Moreover, Canon's Germany's compulsion to outline how to bypass the dire warning about "non-Canon" supplies is somewhat satisfying. However, there are some downsides to this from a consumer perspective.
