Canon ink cartridges become an unexpected chip shortage victim

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2022
Canon has become an unusual victim of the global semiconductor shortage, as its printer cartridges are not shipping with chips to confirm they contain genuine ink from the company.




The global semiconductor shortage has led to low supplies of chips used in many different industries, prompting delays in shipments and rising costs of scarce devices to consumers. While computing components, mobile devices, and cars are thought to be the main industries affected by a lack of chips, it appears that printer ink suppliers are also having problems.

Camera and printer producer Canon has run into the situation where it has to send printer cartridges out without its usual collection of chips. As spotted by Mario W on Twitter, this means Canon is producing ink cartridges without what he refers to as "copy-protection measures," and is starting to contact customers about a fix.

The chips included in a printer cartridge provide a few functions, including helping to determine how much ink is left to use. It is also generally used to ensure that users use genuine cartridges from the company, to try and prevent the use of uncertified and unofficial third-party inks.

A support page from Canon Europe's website lists numerous imageRunner multi-function printers that use ink cartridges affected by the shortages. Canon warns that there is "no negative impact on print quality when using the consumables without electronic components," but features such as "the ability to detect toner levels" could be affected.

The page goes on to explain how to use one of the company's affected toner cartridges, including instructions to bypass a warning about a potentially malfunctioning cartridge.

It is unclear how long the problem will last for Canon, nor is it known if other printer manufacturers are going through the same supply issues.

The chip shortage is affecting many industries and device vendors, with Apple seemingly feeling the pinch in September while rivals are faring worse. Chip companies like TSMC have been announcing major investment initiatives to ease off the pressure on chip supply chains, but it is unlikely that the situation will be fixed anytime soon.


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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,226member
    He who lives by the sword dies by the sword
    stompyrob53darkvadermattinozolsnarwhalchianapoleon_phoneapartStrangeDaysscstrrf
  • Reply 2 of 16
    It’s about time for printer companies to rethink their ink cartridge strategy. Now it bites them back on their butts. EPSON’s ink refillable printer starts to look good. 
    rob53darkvaderolschiascstrrfviclauyycwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 16
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,290member
    It’s about time for printer companies to rethink their ink cartridge strategy. Now it bites them back on their butts. EPSON’s ink refillable printer starts to look good. 
    This is reason I went to Epson. Canon forced you to use their ink cartridges. Actually worse than Apple’s payment systems so why aren’t they being investigated?
    darkvaderllamawilliamlondonscstrrf
  • Reply 4 of 16
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    rob53 said:
    It’s about time for printer companies to rethink their ink cartridge strategy. Now it bites them back on their butts. EPSON’s ink refillable printer starts to look good. 
    This is reason I went to Epson. Canon forced you to use their ink cartridges. Actually worse than Apple’s payment systems so why aren’t they being investigated?

    Because we need new laws to eliminate monopolies like the ink cartridge mafia as well as the app store mafia.
    elijahgwilliamlondonscstrrf
  • Reply 5 of 16
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,502member
    Ink cartridges aren’t as bad as we think. 
    These printers are sold below cost, ink is their profit. Also printing is not as popular as it used to be, fewer and fewer ink is being sold thanks to the internet. 
    llamawilliamlondonscstrrfwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 16
    narwhalnarwhal Posts: 124member
    I was an Epson user for maybe 20 years, but recently dumped them for a Brother inkjet, which has given us no troubles. Epson cartridges and their new refillable ink tanks were always drying up, requiring cleaning between every print job. Also, Epson's paper handling mechanisms are so flimsy the past 10 years, you can't print on card stock. And for photos, I'm using the drug store down the street. I can send the photos via their web site, then just drive a mile to pick them up. A lot easier than printing photos at home.
    edited January 2022 ravnorodomscstrrfviclauyycwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 16
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,323member
    I'll never buy another ink cartridge printer again. Ever since I bought an HP Neverstop laser printer, I've printed thousands of pages and still have a full toner. How is that possible? Compared to ink jet, I was replacing those after a hundred pages.

    My HP Neverstop laser is black only, but works like a charm, even over wireless, including scanning. It's been a great printer! Looking forward to getting a colour version eventually.
    dewmellamawilliamlondonscstrrfGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 16
    leighrleighr Posts: 256member
    The ink/toner deferred profit model which Canon, Epson, Brother etc.  use, should have been stopped years ago. Its simply irresponsible and environmentally absurd. If it is cheaper for me to buy a brand new printer (with included ink) than it is to buy a few cartridges of ink, then something is wrong. This results in people simply throwing printers away when they run out of ink, buying a whole new printer, to save money. Time these companies were called out for their price fixing and environmental damage. 
    elijahgmark fearingchiawilliamlondonscstrrfviclauyycwatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 16
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,826member
    I'll never buy another ink cartridge printer again. Ever since I bought an HP Neverstop laser printer, I've printed thousands of pages and still have a full toner. How is that possible? Compared to ink jet, I was replacing those after a hundred pages.

    My HP Neverstop laser is black only, but works like a charm, even over wireless, including scanning. It's been a great printer! Looking forward to getting a colour version eventually.
    Laser is absolutely the way to go. Toner is cheaper than the paper. I always had Epson printers before and used to use "compatible" inks, which didn't last long with the endless churning and cleaning required to keep them running. Laser is even better if you get a second hand printer. I got a second hand Canon Imageclass laser, it was $30 and works perfectly, I'm still on the toners it came with 5 years ago. Bargain. The software is a bit crappy (no Bonjour/AirPrint support) but the quality of the output is extremely impressive, not quite up to inkjet for photos but for everything else it's better as there's no bleed.
    scstrrf
  • Reply 10 of 16
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,826member
    leighr said:
    The ink/toner deferred profit model which Canon, Epson, Brother etc.  use, should have been stopped years ago. Its simply irresponsible and environmentally absurd. If it is cheaper for me to buy a brand new printer (with included ink) than it is to buy a few cartridges of ink, then something is wrong. This results in people simply throwing printers away when they run out of ink, buying a whole new printer, to save money. Time these companies were called out for their price fixing and environmental damage. 
    It's not quite that simple, the "starter" inks are only about 10% full so they quickly run out. But I agree it has a pretty bad environmental impact either way.
    scstrrf
  • Reply 11 of 16
    It’s about time for printer companies to rethink their ink cartridge strategy. Now it bites them back on their butts. EPSON’s ink refillable printer starts to look good. 
    Exactly. Canon, HP (and others) have lost the plot when it comes to ink cartridges. I refuse to have any of their kit in my house.
    I've been using refillable ink systems on my Epson A3 printers for years. 
    scstrrfwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 16
    Epson did seem to get it right with their Ecotank printers. It is a pleasure not to have to deal with cartridges and the waste and inconvenience they cause.  I may not be typical but it’s been over 2 years and I’ve not had to purchase ink for my Epson Ecotank printer. And when I do, the ink bottles are way more cost effective.  I have not had the clogging problems with it that I’ve had with cartridge based Epson printers in the past. 
    No more cartridges for me. 
    scstrrfravnorodomwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 16
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,482member
    I'll never buy another ink cartridge printer again. Ever since I bought an HP Neverstop laser printer, I've printed thousands of pages and still have a full toner. How is that possible? Compared to ink jet, I was replacing those after a hundred pages.

    My HP Neverstop laser is black only, but works like a charm, even over wireless, including scanning. It's been a great printer! Looking forward to getting a colour version eventually.
    It literally always been that way. 

    Laser printers are reliable and much more durable. Inks are expensive. Toners aren't cheap upfront but they don't "clog" and they don't "dry out" so we end up paying only pennies per page for the entire lifetime of toners. With ink jet, we pay a lot more and even more if the inks dry out. Some even force us to change color inks even if we don't need that color. I believe there's a class action lawsuit against that. 

    The only advantage of ink printers is that they're way much better at printing color photographs. Color laser printers can print acceptable photos, they just will never be as good as ink jets.  


    williamlondonStrangeDaysscstrrfravnorodomwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 16
    darkvader said:
    rob53 said:
    It’s about time for printer companies to rethink their ink cartridge strategy. Now it bites them back on their butts. EPSON’s ink refillable printer starts to look good. 
    This is reason I went to Epson. Canon forced you to use their ink cartridges. Actually worse than Apple’s payment systems so why aren’t they being investigated?

    "app store mafia."
    Oh ffs, when you can't say anything cogent, go hyperbolic eh? [rolls eyes]
    StrangeDaysscstrrfwatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 16
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Gillette invented the marketing scheme decades ago:  Give away the razor -- so the user has to buy their blades.   It was a classic that was taught in my marketing class in 1972.

    But the printer companies have taken it too far:  the cost of their cartridges is beyond exorbitant.

    As for Cannon printers:  my grandson's family has one and its a nightmare.   It locks up on a regular basis trying to print something from somewhere coming over WiFi and won't unlock until it's printed -- which it can't do.  So, nothing else will print.  There is no way to clear it.  The only solutions I've found is to try again in a couple days or leave it unplugged for an hour or two. 
    It's a well known problem as there are questions about it all over the internet -- but no actual solutions and nothing from Cannon -- particularly no fixes.
    ravnorodom
  • Reply 16 of 16
    Hello, first post.
    Please...do not update firmware to SI13LC on Epson WF-3820, and others, unless you are using genuine Epson cartridges. It has left me with a paperweight. I spoke with Doug at Epson today, and he said my only option is to now buy Epson genuine ink. There is no rollback of the firmware update. Don't be fooled like me!
    I didn't see this until it was too late...(I hope links aren't forbidden) https://www.reddit.com/r/printers/comments/s755ux/epson_workforce_pro_wf3820_they_did_it_again/
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