No scan without ink – lawsuit filed against printer manufacturer Canon

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Canon in the United States, alleging that some 3-in-1 devices only scan when ink is present.

In the US, Canon could soon be faced with a lawsuit in court: A user has filed a class action lawsuit concerning the manufacturer’s 3-in-1 devices. Accordingly, David Leacraft defends himself against the fact that his multifunction device can only scan or fax as long as the ink cartridges are inserted, such as Bleeping Computer reports.

His Pixma MG6320 refuses to use the other functions if the ink is used up – although it is not necessary for scanning and faxing. However, according to Leacraft, Canon is promoting the printer as a multifunctional device without mentioning the need for full ink cartridges.

Leacraft understandably argued in its lawsuit that its device should still be able to scan and fax without full ink cartridges. Otherwise he would not have bought the product, according to his argument in the lawsuit.

The problem that some Canon multifunctional devices stop working when the ink cartridges are empty has been known for a number of years. According to Canon, there is no workaround for this, users simply have to buy new, sometimes expensive cartridges. Even those who rarely use their device for printing have to buy new ink, as it dries out over time.

In its lawsuit, Leacraft accuses Canon of maintaining the restrictions solely in order to sell more ink cartridges. There is no technical reason for the restriction, according to Leacraft. It remains to be seen whether the court will follow his line of argument – the lawsuit has yet to be accepted. Then other affected people in the USA could also receive compensation.

The author of the article is Tobias Költzsch.