By Standard Reporter
Electronics manufacturer Hewlett Packard (HP) has decried the growing threat of counterfeits in the country, saying it is steadily eating into the company’s bottomline.
The vice has hit HP’s toners hard. According to Tina Rose, HP’s Anti-Counterfeit programme manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, for every two genuine printing cartridges sold, one is a fake.
"Last year alone, we confiscated over 36,000 counterfeit items with the help of Government," Rose said.
She warned consumers to be wary of counterfeit toners, saying while they are passed on as genuine HP products, they actually damage printers.
Fake products packed in copies of original boxes are often sold to unsuspecting consumers as genuine. She said users of counterfeit toners run several risks, ranging from poor print quality to printer downtime.
Rose was in Nairobi on a two-day Information Technology workshop dubbed ‘Printonomics.’
Due to the vice, HP is now investing in new innovations that will introduce products combining technology, supplies and support.
Some of the innovation s are office-based managed print services and large scale printing design jet supported by a range of features to track origin and compare costs of HP products online.
