🖨️ Printer smarts: Turning off your printer can trigger maintenance tasks when you turn it back on, which sucks up expensive ink. Instead, let your printer go into energy-saving mode when it’s not in use.
Can't find printer ink? Blame the chip shortage
Computer chips are used in almost anything electronically powered, ranging from handheld devices to kitchen appliances and everything in between. But the global pandemic has caused a significant shortage, and the automotive industry has been hit especially hard.
The semiconductor industry had already been somewhat wobbly before the pandemic. But as working-from-home started to gain traction, more remote workers required better equipment. This created an initial run for tech and gadgets, and manufacturers couldn’t keep up.
The shortage has rippled around the globe, and it might be with us for a while. Read on to find out how the scarcity of semiconductors is affecting printer cartridges.
Here’s the backstory
Depending on the type of printer you have, the manufacturer might have put some anti-piracy steps in place. Printer ink is notoriously expensive.
In most cases, a physical printer is seen as a one-time purchase and is often sold at low costs. Ink cartridges are a significant expense and need to be replaced regularly. To prevent unauthorized or third-party (and more affordable) cartridges from being used, makers insert special chips so printers can detect authenticity.
If the chip isn’t present or gives off the wrong information, the printer will refuse to accept the cartridge. This will often lead to the printer not working, and you won’t be able to scan a document.
But the chip shortage has derailed those prevention methods, causing manufacturers like Canon to concede. Canon has been forced to sell cartridges without the authentication chips for certain models in some regions, creating a different headache for users.
The models that can accept chip-free cartridges are:
- imageRUNNER
- 1435i/1435iF
- 2625i/2630i/2645i
- C1325iF/1335iF
- C3025i, C3125i and C3226i
- imageRUNNER ADVANCE
- 4525i/4535i/4545i/4551i, II and III
- C250i/350i/C351iF
- C255i/C355i/C355iF/C256i/356i
- C256i/356i II and III
- C3320i/3325i/3330i
- C3520i/3525i/3530i, II and III
- C5535i/5540i/5550i/5560i, II and III
- DX 4725i/4735i/4745i/4751i
- DX 6000i, C257i/C357i
- C3720i/3725i/3730i
- DX C3822i/3826i/3830i/3835i
- DX C5735i/5740i/5750i/5760i
What you can do about it
Your printer has an email address - Here's how to print to it from your phone or computer
Printers make our office lives easier — but they come with their own set of issues. For example, think of how expensive ink cartridges are to refill. Tap or click here for five easy ways to save ink when printing.
Another issue arises when you try to format and print a spreadsheet. Oh, and if you want to print a page from your phone or tablet, good luck. Not only can pages from the internet be hard to format, but connecting the page to the printer can feel like a Herculean task.
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Printer hack (literally): A YouTuber figured out how to use more affordable third-party ink cartridges in HP printers that usually block anything but the HP brand. With a cheap circuit board, the printer gets tricked into believing the non-HP cartridge is genuine and works like usual. HP is threatening to brick any printers caught doing this.
AI denies insurance coverage, global ID system & hackers' favorite files
Plus, Washington Post’s Geoffrey Fowler learned his $123 HP ink cartridges cost $2 to make — I chat with him about it. Ukrainian women are using AI to “honey trap” Russian soldiers. AI thinks it wrote the Constitution, and tools designed to combat constant lateness.