Digital Boomerang Singapore 

Cheaper price tags are always a great temptation, but how can you tell sniff out the fakes?

While I was shopping for a new cartridge for my HP Deskjet 930C at Sim Lim and Funan, I found there were cheaper alternatives to buying an original inkjet cartridge from HP.

Further investigation into these alternatives led me to three consumer choices: (a) purchase an original cartridge at a fixed price from HP and its authorized resellers; (b) purchase an original from a non-authorized reseller; or (c) purchase a generic refill.

Purchasing from non-authorized resellers meant 5%-10% savings while purchasing a refill meant up to 50% savings.

My cheapskate instincts played up a storm in my mind. I was sorely tempted to go for the refill and spend just half the money.

But I decided to make some inquiries first. Would I be compromising quality with the cheaper cartridges?

Kelly Tan, General Manager, Consumer Business Organisation, Hewlett-Packard Singapore, explained the price difference offered by non-authorised resellers.

Some HP original inkjet cartridges are not originals, she said. They are counterfeits that look exactly like the originals. To disguise the fact that they are counterfeits, only a small discount is offered, making it seem like the retailer is just more competitive or simply selling parallel imports.

Wondering if this counterfeit problem also plagued other printer manufacturers, I called up Canon and Epson.

A spokesperson from Canon Marketing Singapore Pte Ltd confirmed the existence of counterfeits and assured me that Canon has anti-counterfeiting measures in place. In fact, a dedicated team in Japan aggressively looks into it for the Canon global market.

Epson was unavailable for comment.

Refills, on the other hand, are real cheap alternatives, explained HP. But of course, cheap does not always mean value-for-money. Manufacturers of these refills cannot guarantee that the refills give you the same yield and reliability. Also they cannot confirm that the refill ink does not wear down the printer unnecessarily.

Vernonique Malan, Supplies Business Manager, Consumer Business Organisation Asia Pacific, HP, explained that HP packs a lot of technology into its cartridges that refillers and counterfeiters cannot offer. More than 50 sub-processes and tests are run on every cartridge to ensure reliability and consistent print quality.

My cheapstake instincts crawled away. In its place, a new resolve to purchase an original cartridge.

But how do I know I am getting an original?

Currently, I cannot be 100% sure I am buying an original unless I purchase my cartridge direct from the manufacturer. But not all manufacturers sell direct. In fact, the main channel of distribution is through authorised resellers.

Unfortunately, counterfeits sometimes sold unwittingly by authorized resellers. The incidence is, however, rather low. Authorized resellers lose their good business standing if they are found to be selling counterfeits. They simply have too much to lose. Moreover, companies like HP randomly audits their resellers to ensure that they are legit.

The good news is that HP is re-packaging its cartridges to make it impossible for counterfeiters to duplicate. (For the full story, click here) Till then, I will purchase original ink cartridges at authorised resellers – just to be on the safe side.

- First published on IT AsiaOne, This is IT

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