HP Brings On New Technology To Curb Counterfeiting





In a bid to curb the recent upsurge in the activities of illicit vendors, Hewlett-Packard ( HP) has introduced authentication technology which allows customers to tell within seconds if the ink and toner printer cartridges they have purchased are genuine HP products.

Speaking at an anti-counterfeit press conference in Accra to demonstrate HP’s latest Mobile Authentication solutions, Rita Amuchienwa, HP Supplies Country Manger for English West Africa, Printing and Personal Systems (PPS), expressed concern at the impact of counterfeit products on businesses around the country.

She said: ‘Counterfeiting poses a huge challenge to brands and businesses in Ghana and many other countries around the world. Counterfeiters harm manufacturers and customers by consistently undermining business standards and practices. Counterfeiting is bad news for everyone, as it dishonestly generates billions of dollars and threatens the reputation of global brands such as ours’.

Madam Amuchienwa continued: ‘It also harms consumers by creating low quality products with unknown chemicals which can damage printers and could harm the environment’.

She explained that the need to put a permanent end to such illicit activities makes it imperative that HP leads the way with awareness campaigns and innovation.

According to her, the war against counterfeiters is constantly evolving and they remain steadfast in their resolve, which is why they always look for new ways to tackle counterfeiting in their various markets across the world.

The HP Supplies Country Manger for English West Africa, PPS described the event as one way to do this, by proactively educating customers and partners to be vigilant against fake printing supplies.

She also disclosed that HP, cooperating with local authorities, had in the last four years conducted more than 1,000 investigations, resulting in over 800 enforcement actions in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Nearly nine million units of counterfeit products and component have been seized, according to the world’s largest technology firm.

Touching on the latest HP’s security technology to deal with counterfeiting products, the PPS Marketing Manager for HP in West Africa, Tolulope Lawani, explained the latest sophisticated security technology on HP printer cartridges, and reiterated the company’s determination to protect consumers against the deceitful and illegal actions of counterfeiters.

Mr. Lawani said: ‘Through the Anti-counterfeit Programme, HP is working hard to protect partners and customers, and ensure they receive only authentic supplies by making it difficult to produce, distribute and sell counterfeits.

HP has been tackling counterfeiting in three main ways: awareness, product packaging and enforcement. As part of this programme, we have introduced HP Mobile Authentication technology on new original HP print cartridges. ‘

According to senior officials of HP, HP Original inkjet and LaserJet print cartridges features sophisticated holographic properties as well as a new Quick Response (QR) code which customers can easily validate using a web-enabled smartphone or online via www.hp.com/go/ok http://www.hp.com/go/ok .

With HP Authentication Software, HP offers customers easy -to-use support to avoid counterfeit LaserJet print cartridges. Customers can download and install the free software from www.hp.com/go/TonerCheck http://www.hp.com/go/TonerCheck . Should the software detect anything unusual, it will warn customers with messages and advise users on what to do next.

They explained that the originals HP supplies distinguish themselves by their superior and reliability at competitive prices. Authentic HP LaserJet and inkjet cartridges, unlike counterfeits benefit from a history of investment and testing to provide superior performance and consistent results.