• PC World
• »Consumer Advice

Inadvertent Sales

So profitable is the ersatz-ink trade that it has attracted organized crime and (on occasion) terrorists, says Robert A. Levinson, managing director of the Latin American office of SafirRosetti, a consulting firm that helps ink manufacturers in their efforts to crack down on counterfeiting rings.

Possible links between bogus products (including cartridges) and terrorism have also attracted the attention of the Department of Homeland Security. The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, which is chiefly responsible for intercepting counterfeit products that cross the U.S. border, is one of several federal agencies that are working with ink manufacturers to combat the problem.

"There are strong indicators that proceeds of counterfeit products are going to fund terrorist organizations, but we have not made a definitive link," says NIPRCC director Nancy Sherman-Kratzer. "No matter what it is, if it's popular, then counterfeiters will copy it," she observes.

Invisible Ink

Printer vendors haven't widely publicized the problem of phony ink because they fear consumers might simply stop buying brand-name cartridges and purchase less-expensive third-party products instead. But the printer industry may be shooting itself in the foot: If a customer who has a problem with brand-name ink does not suspect that it might be counterfeit, the manufacturer's reputation may take a hit.

Some vendors are trying to minimize customers' pain. Epson says use of counterfeit ink will not void a printer's warranty. Canon agrees, as long as users didn't know they bought bogus ink. HP says that technically any damage sustained as a result of using third-party inks (including fake HP inks) would void the printer's warranty, but that to help victimized customers HP would make specific determinations on a case-by-case basis.

If you suspect you've bought a fake ink cartridge that was supposedly from an Imaging Supplies Coalition member, visit the ISC's Web site for information on submitting cartridges for testing. Report any problems with non-ISC members' products to the vendor's customer service department (customers of HP should call its fraud hotline at 877/219-3183). Testing could give you grounds for a refund and help vendors track sources of fake ink. For advice on avoiding counterfeits, see "Outfox the Fakers."

The high price of printer ink gives consumers good reason to seek cheaper alternatives. Next month we examine another source of inexpensive ink: third-party cartridges that are marketed as compatible with name-brand printers.