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Canon on anti-counterfeit offensive
Canon has launched a new hologram for its inkjet cartridges, toners and batteries. The firm claims this offers consumers increased protection by making it easier for them to buy official Canon consumables, rather than lower quality counterfeit versions.The new holograms show the word ‘Canon’ running horizontally in a number of bands. Between these Canon ‘ribbons’ is a helix design, which also runs horizontally and is overprinted with the word ‘genuine’.
In addition, the hologram incorporates a colour-changing feature. When viewed front on, this should appear as iridescent gold, but when tipped into a horizontal position this colour changes to a bright, iridescent green. If this transition doesn’t occur, this means a hologram can be considered fake.
The introduction of Canon’s new consumable hologram comprises part of Canon’s new push to educate consumers about the issues associated with using counterfeit consumables, namely that their performance is likely to be much worse than that of their original counterparts. Of course counterfeit consumables also don’t come with guarantees.
Part of Canon’s consumer education aims to highlight the signs users should look out for, that suggest a consumable product is not genuine. These include: the seller requiring the user to buy significant quantities; certificates of ‘authenticity’ being offered; the offer to buy being made by fax or phone; the consumer having to buy today or not at all.
“In recent years, protecting consumer rights has become a crucial element in competitive markets of product imitation and forgery,” said Michel Sabbagh, marketing manager for Canon Middle East. “Canon therefore aims to safeguard the best interests of its consumers and highlight the hidden dangers of such counterfeit products. A certain number of counterfeit Canon products have been found in the Middle East region and include mainly toner and ink cartridges for Bubble Jet and Laser printers. This is a major threat to dealers and especially to Canon customers.”
“Using advanced technology that meets the eye, Canon is now able to achieve its goal and enable its customers to identify a fake from a genuine product,” Sabbagh added, “thereby offering reliability, longevity and trust in the brand”.
Canon is this month backing up its campaign by sending out a so-called ‘Handy Viewer’ to selected regional resellers. Thus, if consumable buyers are in any doubt about a consumable’s authenticity, they can use this gadget to gain on-site verification of the product they are buying. This viewer should also help resellers themselves to accurately tell original products from fake in the case of stock they have purchased.
Members of the public who spy any counterfeit Canon consumables on the market can e-mail the firm on anti-counterfeit@canon-me.com.
In the case of Canon’s current campaign, the term ‘counterfeit’ refers specifically to products that are fakes or copies of Canon’s products, but which are packaged to appear as though they have been manufactured by (or with the consent of) Canon. These products – or their packaging – usually feature the Canon logo.
According to Canon, using a counterfeit product can damage your property or even cause personal injury. For example, the company claims that using a counterfeit toner may cause damage to your copying machine. In addition, counterfeit products may not contain the safety measures and quality standards that genuine Canon products contain.
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