Epson fights back against counterfeits with the help of Turkish authorities

At the end of 2019 Epson responded to customer complaints about the presence of counterfeit inks with a joint raid alongside the Turkish police. The highly successful operation netted thousands of counterfeit items. 

During a raid in Istanbul in late 2019 thousands of counterfeit bottles for Epson’s cartridge free printers, as well as large amounts of labels and packing materials bearing the Epson logo were seized, together with counterfeit products of other brands. 

An Epson spokesperson emphasised that counterfeit printing supplies results in an estimated $3 billion loss to the global economy. Fake products can not only cause irreversible damage to printing equipment, but user’s health can be damaged by the toxic chemicals used in counterfeit ink consumables. 

Epson is a member of ICCE, the Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa. ICCE has been operating since 1997 and is an authoritative, effective and respected global voice leading the fight against intellectual property crime in imaging consumables. It is the collaboration between law enforcement and ICCE members that enables the effective pooling and exchange of intelligence which achieves results in the fight against counterfeiters. The Istanbul raid is a good example of this collective approach.  

To help legitimate retail and wholesale companies, there are four useful tips to avoid buying counterfeit ink and other products:  

Know your supplier 

Buy only from authorised channels or directly from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to ensure product authenticity.  

Check the price 

If the price of the product is too good to be true, then it probably is, so check that it’s genuine. 

Check the packaging 

Poor spelling on packaging and colour changes suggest it is a counterfeit product. Check product authentication devices on packaging. For more information, visit the ICCE reseller web page. 

Print quality 

If one of your customers complains about product performance, such as poor-quality printing, smells or leaks report it immediately to ICCE and have a strategy to recall affected products. Please report your suspicions via the ICCE website. 

For the associated article in Turkish, please see:  https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/teknoloji/yazicilarda-kullanilan-sahte-murekkep-icin-dugmeye-basildi-41470684