Dymo adds DRM to their label rolls. You will have to buy brand labels to use the printer.
If anything is very annoying with printers today, it is that most manufacturers of this type of device implement features that make it mandatory or almost mandatory to use their own cartridges, unless you see errors and other warnings here and there when trying to print anything. And today, Dymo seems to be taking things to the next level by adding DRM directly to the.
Dymo adds DRM to label rolls
Yes, you read it right. According to activist Corey Doctorow, who posted an article about the EFF, it looks like Dymo is now adding RFID readers to its latest label printers. This means that when users try to print labels with this device, it will be able to detect whether you are using branded labels or labels from other brands.
You will need to purchase brand labels in order to use the printer.
According to Cory Doctorow, “These new label rolls have a catch. An RFID-enabled microcontroller that authenticates the label maker to show you purchased Dymo labels at full price and not from a competitor. The chip also reads the labels when you print them (so you can’t transfer that to a regular roll of labels).”
If you’ve always bought Dymo labels, this new feature won’t be a problem, but some people should understandably find that this added security prevents them from buying cheaper alternative labels at all. In these cases, it is better to turn to another brand of label printers. In any case, let’s hope that this practice does not become widespread, as it happens today with cartridges for conventional printers.