Beware, Beware the Fake ink cartridge November 29, 2005 14:54 by John Sollars

Your Guide to Fake Ink Cartridges

It’s no secret that inkjet and printer toner cartridges today have joined the ranks of counterfeit Louis Vuitton handbags and fake Burberry accessories. Not taking kindly to this are leading ink makers, such as Canon, Epson, and Lexmark, who are battling counterfeiters that are selling fake ink packaged as the real thing.

The European Union has witnessed a 900% increase in the amount of different counterfeit products coming into the member states in the last five years.

Fake cartridges (not to be confused with quality off-brand compatible inkjet and toner cartridges) are making their presence felt on retail shelves all over the US and UK.

Genuine online retailers are beginning to go to some lengths to inspect and check the quality of their ink regularly to ensure the cartridge labeled with the name of a major vendor is in fact, from that vendor.

Of course consumers don't know its fake ink because it looks exactly like the real thing.

How Fake Ink Cartridges Affect Your Printer Firstly, there is no quality control over the manufacturing of such counterfeit products. Fake ink cartridges can damage your printer, or even cause personal injury. These cartridges can leak or explode, resulting in serious, permanent damage to your printer. As they do not conform to safety measures and quality standards of the genuine product, a counterfeit battery, for example, may overheat or cause a fire.

Invisible InkPrinter vendors haven't widely publicized the problem of phoney ink because they fear consumers might simply stop buying branded cartridges and purchase less-expensive third-party products instead. However, the printer industry may be shooting itself in the foot: if a customer who has a problem with branded ink does not suspect that it might be phoney, the manufacturer's reputation may take a hit.

Some vendors are, however, trying to minimize customers' pain. Epson claims that use of counterfeit ink will not void a printer's warranty. Canon agrees, as long as users didn't know they bought fake ink. HP says that any damage sustained as a result of using third-party inks (including fake HP inks) would annul the printer's warranty, but that to help victimized customers, it would make specific decisions on a case-by-case basis.

Identify the Counterfeits

Identify the bogus products form the genuine ones can be quite challenging. The main reason is that the counterfeit products often look the same as the genuine products. Consequently, consumers are often unable to distinguish between authentic products and counterfeit products.

Many companies have begun incorporating special inimitable symbols. For example, Canon has incorporated special technology measures such as a unique hologram into its packaging that makes identification of counterfeit packaging easier.

Other indicators of counterfeit include: • Abnormally low prices • Differences in the colours and materials used in the packaging of counterfeit products • Poor quality materials used in the manufacture of fake products • Difference in the manner in which the products are sold

Additionally, many companies have a team of their own experts, who are specially trained in identifying counterfeit products.

Ink Buying Tips

Differentiating the fakes from the genuine article is not always easy, but here are some shopping tips and indicators that should help you. No-name Merchants: To lower the chances of purchasing illegitimate ink, buy from a reputable authorised retailer. In the UK look for trusted online businesses that display the ‘SafeBuy’

Suspect Pricing: Educate yourself about ink costs before you shop, and be cautious if you see exceptionally low prices. Although some fake ink costs as much as the genuine ones, some are discounted up to 40 % below the manufacturer's suggested retail price.

Funny Packaging: Fraudulent-ink packaging ranges in quality from crude to indistinguishable from the original it imitates. It’s true that most of the counterfeit-ink victims cannot tell the difference, but you should still look for discrepancies such as misprinted stickers and packaging that's old or falling apart. Running on Empty: Phoney ink jet and toner cartridges typically run dry very quickly because their tanks aren't full. Keep track of the average number of printouts you get with your new ink cartridges, and be suspicious of ones that run dry exceptionally early.

Performance problems: Colour ink is harder to forge than black. Many of the phoney-ink keep cleaning their printers' print heads in a vain effort to get the colours to look right. Compare the quality of good printouts made with previous cartridges, and watch for any difference in colour between old and new samples.

Disasters: Counterfeit cartridges can leak, spit, or pop apart inside ink jet printers, creating a mess that can take hours to clean. When replacing an old cartridge that you've had good results with, do a side-by-side comparison with the new one and try to find any inconsistencies, particularly in molded plastic seams or in controller chips, if any.

About the Author: John Sollars is the managing director of Solar Electronics, which are both ink and pc peripheral suppliers based in Shropshire, UK. To access a comprehensive online shop of original and re-manufactured printer inks please visit Stinkyink.Com