For many people, the opportunity to save some money on print cartridges and toner is just too tempting, and for others, they are unknowingly duped by dodgy online sale sites or unapproved stores.
Unfortunately unsuspecting consumers, using their printers innocently, end up paying the long term costs such as poor print quality, leaky cartridges and in the worse cases, catastrophic printer damage for using these fake printing supplies.
Because substandard cartridges and toners are very difficult to identify, as they look almost identical to the genuine product due to the use of sophisticated techniques in packaging, it has become important to create awareness to the public and sensitize consumers on ways to identify and avoid the use of illicit printing products.
Risks involved in the use of fake supplies:
Longevity of cartridges: Using non-OEM supplies can cause long-term performance and reliability issues. Testing done by Buyers Lab1 has shown that Original HP ink cartridges surpass non-HP alternatives by producing on average 50 per cent more pages. The same test revealed that more than 40 per cent of non-HP ink cartridges failed either being dead on arrival or expiring prematurely.
Poor quality of print out: Counterfeit print supplies usually give a poor-quality print-out; this could include ink spotting, streaking, smudging and smearing. Toner splatter and poor colour quality are also issues associated with fakes.
Printer damage: There is a potential for causing long term and very costly damage to the inside of your printer. Toner leaks from poorly assembled print supplies can create a mess inside printers. Key parts can become contaminated with leaking ink and toner. While your own hands and clothes can become stained when trying to fix the printer or remove poorly performing cartridges, some of the damages can cause machine failures and total breakdowns, which can be both difficult and costly to repair.
Loss of manufacturer’s warranty: Should your printer breakdown because of the use of counterfeit printer ink or toner, you may lose the validity of your printer’s manufacturer warranty. The short-term gains simply aren’t worth the potential long-term problems.
Funding illegal activities: Sadly, the money used in buying fake printing supplies is funding crime and additional illegal activities in the sense that it goes to the pockets of criminals who produce these illicit items, instead of being ploughed into genuine print businesses to help them develop new, cutting edge technology.
According to Hewlett Packard (HP), the world’s leading PC and printer manufacturer, the company works with local law authorities across the globe to investigate and seize counterfeit products, to help keep customers safe from being sold inferior quality and unlawful goods.
“ For example, in just six months last year, from May – October 2016, HP worked with law enforcement agencies across EMEA to seize 1.9 million counterfeit products,” the company revealed.
With counterfeiting of goods, especially printing products, growing at an alarming rate, people need to be extra vigilant about the ink and toner they are buying.
Here’s a couple of ways you can identify counterfeit goods:
•Scan the QR code on the box: Most printer manufacturers especially HP produces cartridges with a security seal that can be scanned with a smartphone. Once the QR code is scanned on the box, you’ll automatically be taken to the validation screen.
• Check the labels: HP cartridges are supplied with both a holographic security label to validate authenticity, and a tamper-evident label with clear instructions to identify whether the product has been inferred with.
•Go to the company’s official website to validate serial number.
Jumoke Akiyode Lawanson
