In a survey conducted by HP in Saudi Arabia, it was revealed that 17% of the companies in the country have purchased counterfeit printer cartridges.
Arab News reported prevalence and spread of counterfeit consumables has had a “damaging effect” on businesses in the Kingdom, with “print quality and inconsistency” the leading indicators of counterfeit consumables. 62 percent of businesses surveyed said they only became aware consumables were counterfeit when printers “failed frequently”.
HP said that in 1,000 investigations undertaken in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the past four years alone, with more than 9 million cartridge seized, and one such seizure in Saudi Arabia saw 67,000 items seized, with 55,000 counterfeit cartridges removed alone.
Laszlo Czinege from HP- Saudi Arabia said, “At HP we are working in partnership with other global brands and international organizations to find new ways to tackle counterfeiting across the world.”
Recently Xerox aided authorities in seizing counterfeit cartridges in China and Dubai, whilst the “world’s largest” counterfeit seizure took place in Ajman,UAE.