13 Winners Celebrated China RT Imaging Awards 2025: A Farce Amid the Counterfeit Clone Toner Epidemic.

The RT Global Imaging Industry Award 2025 recently crowned 13 companies (below) for their innovation, sustainability, and leadership in the imaging sector. But while the industry pats itself on the back, another scandal is unfolding in the shadows: the rise of counterfeit toner manufacturers. In a startling contrast to the acclaim given to the 13 awardees, a recent list of 48 counterfeit toner manufacturers has emerged, with these companies being honored in China for producing clone toner products that are wreaking havoc on the industry. These counterfeit products undermine genuine innovation, damage printers, and put consumers at risk—yet they continue to thrive in global markets. So, while RT Global Imaging’s winners are celebrated for pushing technological boundaries, the industry’s reality is more complicated. Are we truly celebrating excellence, or are we conveniently ignoring the underhanded side of the business?

The 2025 winners are being lauded for their contributions to eco-friendly printing solutions and technological advancements. But their success is being overshadowed by the growing threat of clone toner suppliers, whose products are often just as widely distributed and used. Despite the official recognition of industry leaders, these fake manufacturers continue to undercut legitimate businesses, offering cheap, low-quality alternatives that cause damage to printers and harm to the environment. These clones not only degrade the integrity of the market but also trick consumers into thinking they’re getting high-quality products. In reality, these clone toners harm the industry more than they help, creating a vicious cycle where consumers lose out on the durability and quality of legitimate OEM and reman toners.

How is it that companies at the forefront of imaging technology can simultaneously operate alongside these counterfeit manufacturers? Some argue that the RT Global Imaging Industry Award, with all its glitz and glam, doesn’t adequately address the deep-rooted issue of cloned goods. While the award ceremony may celebrate top-tier innovation, it fails to address the elephant in the room: the real threat posed by counterfeits undermining everything the winners stand for.