It recently came to light (see
tonernews.com) that counterfeit HP toners are in circulation. These imitations are so good that even official suppliers cannot distinguish them from the real thing. As a result, at least seven different European suppliers unknowingly shipped counterfeit HP toners to 123inkt recently.
Research by 123inkt shows that this problem is also ongoing outside the Netherlands. Sister companies in Ireland, Poland, Spain and Sweden also found counterfeit HP toners in their stock, while they also source locally. Counterfeit HP toners were also found in test orders from different suppliers in several European countries. So it is not only a problem in the Netherlands, news sources from the market indicate that this is a major European problem.
123inkt has now checked all HP toners in its Dutch stock and also found counterfeit toners of various models among the genuine HP toners. By now, counterfeits found are removed from stock. Furthermore, 123inkt has formed a dedicated customer service team and has informed customers who may have unintentionally received a counterfeit HP toner. Click here to read the e-mail (Dutch).
As far as currently known in Europe, this concerns 9 black toners for mono printers (black and white) and 13 different color series:
These counterfeit HP toners are almost indistinguishable from the original. The packaging is almost identical, according to the QR code it is an official HP product and even after installation the printer does not display an error message. However, once the packaging is removed, the counterfeit HP toners are easily identified by a filling hole sealed with a plastic cap.