Actionable Intelligence Releases Special Report on Test Results Indicating Sources for Chips on Counterfeit Supplies

Franklin, Massachusetts, February 22, 2023—Actionable Intelligence, Inc., the leading source of news and analysis for the digital printer and consumables industries, has released a report detailing test results from MicroNet Solutions, Inc. that reveal certain chips marketed by Ninestar Corporation and its subsidiaries can be used to misidentify third-party cartridges as genuine HP cartridges. MicroNet, a testing facility based in Albuquerque, NM, reported that it found clear evidence that chips sourced from Ninestar and its subsidiaries had been used on counterfeit cartridges found in China and Europe.

In October 2022, MicroNet released a 22-page publication, Third Party Aftermarket and Counterfeit Product Analysis HP Printers/Aftermarket Chips, based on results of testing it performed with chips sourced from Ninestar and its subsidiaries, the world’s largest supplier of integrated circuits to the third-party cartridge industry. The testing, which was commissioned by HP, Inc., found some of the chips generate messages in certain HP LaserJet machines that lead consumers to believe they are using HP cartridges when they are using third-party supplies. In addition, MicroNet found that the Unismart line of chip-programming devices marketed by Ninestar and its subsidiaries can be used to program chips to generate messages that make end users think they are printing with an HP LaserJet cartridge when they are not.

“MicroNet Solutions’s test results are as surprising as they are consequential,” said Actionable Intelligence President Charles Brewer. “For almost a decade, HP has been warning third-party chipmakers that they need to be careful when reverse-engineering chips or they could misidentify third-party cartridges as genuine HP products. Chips that violate HP’s intellectual property (IP) put the business of third-party cartridge producers and their channel partners at risk. Last year, over 500 listings on Amazon in Europe and the United States were removed after HP discovered third-party cartridges employing integrated circuits that violate its IP. We are providing our report at no cost because third-party supplies vendors need to know about MicroNet’s findings. It is essential reading for anyone selling third-party supplies.”

A free download of Actionable Intelligence’s 18-page report, “Testing Performed for HP Finds Ninestar and Subsidiaries Are Source for Counterfeit Chips,” is available at the firm’s website. Click here