Canon
Printers · Last assessed 6/9/2026
Score breakdown
Why this grade
Canon is the least-locked of the four, though still a category-wide F. Canon cartridges carry authentication/level-detection chips and firmware updates can block third parties, but the lock is comparatively soft: during the 2022 chip shortage Canon shipped chipless cartridges and publicly told customers how to dismiss the 'cannot recognize cartridge / counterfeit' warning, explicitly stating there is no negative impact on print quality without the chip. That dismissible-warning behavior is materially less hostile than HP's hard block. Canon also sells a Parts Order Desk supplying genuine service parts including user-replaceable printheads, and its refillable MegaTank (PIXMA G) line lowers cost-per-page and sidesteps cartridges entirely. Weaknesses: cartridge PIXMA models remain razor-and-blades, and official public schematics are not openly published.