Tech Data sounds fake HP cartridge alarm

Resellers urged to keep eyes peeled for remanufactured or illegally packaged cartridges

Resellers have been warned to be on the lookout for fake HP laser cartridges and start verifying the products they buy and sell by using the vendor's new identification system.

According to HP distributor Tech Data, cartridges that have been remanufactured or refilled and compatible cartridges that have been illegally packaged are often being passed off as original HP toner cartridges.

Tech Data urged resellers to use HP's new QR identification system to ensure they are not being duped.

"By providing genuine HP toner cartridges to customers for their HP LaserJet printers, resellers can protect customers' investments and extend the lifetime of their devices," said Mark Porter, print and supplies manager at Tech Data UK.

"But it's important that both resellers and their customers are alert to the many fake or counterfeit cartridges that are now being openly offered on the market. It's important to know it is a genuine HP cartridge – and not to discover it is counterfeit toner after it is too late."

Some 53 per cent of the non-HP cartridges tested by research firm Spencer Lab in its recent cartridge reliability study showed reliability issues, while genuine HP products it examined exhibited no issues.