Beware of counterfeit printer supplies

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): Last week I took my daughter, Irene, to the book exhibition at the sports stadium in Senayan. We had a good time browsing through the books displayed by publishers. As we passed a cafeteria, Irene suggested that we stop for some Teh Botol.

"Let's go outside and get it from the hawkers," I said, remembering that we should also now help the needy on the streets more by giving them more business.

We went to one of the vendors just outside the building and ordered two bottles of our favorite cold tea. But the moment the content flowed up the straw, into my mouth and onto my tongue, I knew it was not authentic Teh Botol. The hawker must have refilled empty bottles with homemade tea. I paid, said nothing and left.

It really makes you feel betrayed if you buy a trusted brand and find out that what you get is fake. Unfortunately, the more popular a product is, the more likely it is to be counterfeited -- especially in a market filled with unscrupulous entrepreneurs like ours.

As many computer users must have found out, computer products are also counterfeited, especially consumables like printer ink, toner and ribbons. More than once I unwittingly bought counterfeit LaserJet toner cartridges, refilled cartridges that are packaged and sold as an original product from the printer manufacturer. More distressing was the fact that I had bought the cartridges from stores that I thought I could trust.

Trust was the sole reason I had bought the cartridges from these particular stores, not the savings that I made. I've long known that cheap can indeed be expensive in the end.

When I returned the cartridges to the stores, they were apologetic but insisted that there was nothing they could do because they had obtained the product from someone else. One of these stores even adamantly claimed that the cartridge I returned to them was not the one that they had sold to me, placing the burden of crime on me instead. Now I always go to Istidata, an HP distributor for HP printer toner and ink cartridges.

Long overdue, HP is finally sharing with us some hints that may help us avoid disappointment when buying printer consumables. First, they say, when you buy an InkJet ink cartridge, you should avoid boxes with pictures and letters that are not sharp. Counterfeiters use scanners to create an image of the original package, and sometimes the work is sloppy.

They also say that you should not trust boxes with uneven color dots, particularly the cyan and magenta. The stamping of the expiry date on the side of the box of an original cartridge is also computerized, and you can see a special layer underneath it, which is not present in a fake one.

Unfortunately, some counterfeiters have become so well-versed in using technology to duplicate these features so closely that you may need to open the box and check the plastic bag in which the cartridge is encased. Original cartridges are encased in high quality, non-shiny plastic and are well sealed. The sealed edge of an original cartridge has a regularly toothed edge, while counterfeits have an irregularly toothed edge. Other telltale signs are the consistent quality of the fonts and the bar codes that are clearly printed.

HP says that there are three types of counterfeit ink and toner cartridges. The obvious type is a refilled cartridge packaged in a fake box and sold as an original HP product. Counterfeiters may use original boxes from HP to package refilled cartridges, seal them and sell them as originals. Finally, they may also use fake boxes that they make themselves. It's not surprising that people may offer you a guaranteed original cartridge from HP in fake boxes, since original packaging is being used to package counterfeit ones.

According to the company, the ink cartridges that are most frequently counterfeited include HP 51626A Black, HP 51629A Black, HP 51645A and 51649A Black.

For laser printer toner cartridges, the telltale signs are basically the same. Original boxes have sharper images and the colors are even. The expiry date is also computer printed. The plastic wrapper is sealed properly and the plastic itself is not shiny. Once you open the plastic wrapper, you have to pull the tag that seals the toner container. If you can pull the pull tag very easily, chances are you've got a counterfeit toner.

The most widely circulated counterfeit HP laser toner cartridges include HP C3906F, HP C3974A, HP C3903F, HP C9229SA, HP C3900A and HP C3909A.

Refill

The problem with counterfeiting is that you get a low-quality product in a smaller amount for the price of an original. The counterfeit toner, for example, lasts only 15 to 20 pages while the original should print hundreds of pages. In my experience, the toner smeared the entire printed page because the drum no longer had the ability to selectively retain the toner particles.

Worse, counterfeit cartridges can leak and damage the printer. HP claims that since the beginning of the monetary crisis, the number of damaged printers taken to their service center has increased dramatically, and the majority of damage is caused by ink leaks. Unfortunately, the company rules that any warranty is void if the printers' problem is caused by use of refilled cartridges. It means that the cost of repairing a printer can be prohibitively high.

Now, what about the legitimately offered refills that you can do yourself or can be done for you? For one thing, these are not counterfeit, as they do not claim to be selling original HP products. Furthermore, in this difficult situation, these are really an irresistible alternative, particularly if you have to print reams of reports every week. Therefore, it would be perfectly understandable if you were compelled to use these refills in order to stay in business, particularly because the savings can be significant -- up to 60 percent.

In my own case, however, I would reduce the amount of printing that I do and use the most economical mode of printing each time rather than risk the health and fitness of my printer, which in the meantime has become five times more expensive in price nowadays. Besides, I have made it a point to always go to a reputable source like Istidata for supplies, much like I will go to a respectable cafeteria for Teh Botol from now on after my experience last week.