In a blog post this week, HP admitted that it "should have done a better job of communicating about the authentication procedure." The company says the reason for the update was to "ensure the best customer experience" and to block any third-party cartridges that don't contain an HP security chip and infringe on its intellectual property. In other words, the company apologized for the lack of communication, but defended the decision to push the update.

To try and remedy the dust up with its customers, HP is offering an optional software update that will remove the recently added security feature. The company says it will take about two weeks for the second update to be ready, but when the time comes, customers can find information on it here.

"We will continue to use security features to protect the quality of our customer experience, maintain the integrity of our printing systems and protect our IP including authentication methods that may prevent some third-party supplies from working," HP COO Jon Flaxman explained in the post.