By Beta Ni – It really wasn’t so long ago that when I heard the word ‘counterfeit’ I thought of crisp $100 bills, Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton handbags—you know, high-end merchandise. But today, it seems that counterfeit knows no boundaries.
In mid-January, USA Today reported that the value of counterfeit merchandise exceeds $1.7 trillion, and just yesterday I saw an article warning consumers about fake body lotion. Yes, counterfeit lotion! Imagine spreading that on your skin! As for being safe, who really knows?
It should therefore come as no surprise that there’s a thriving trade in counterfeit printing supplies. How big? Pretty big. Gap Intelligence, for example, reported that seizures of counterfeit toner and ink by customs agents in the European Union customs increased markedly over previous years, with overall counterfeit seizures increasing 14% from 2014 to 2015.
The Imaging Supplies Coalition estimates that counterfeit supplies account for around four-percent of all sold supplies and cost printer manufacturers approximately $3.5 billion annually.
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