U.S. PC and printer maker Hewlett-Packard has said 60 percent of the refill products used in printers across East Africa are not genuine -- a situation that is impacting sales heavily.

HP East Africa made the revelation as the company rolled out printing technology targeting the multi-million dollar regional graphic arts market.

Charles Munyororo, the HP general manager for the imaging and printing group for English-speaking Africa, said the products most affected are laser and ink cartridges used in printing machines, of which he says only 30 percent to 40 percent are genuine.

"These fake and counterfeits are finding their way into the regional market through Asia, mainly from China," said Munyororo.

He acknowledged that counterfeiting is a global business with sales in billions of shillings a year. It affects suppliers and manufacturers and also interferes with the customer's ability to buy genuine products with superior quality.

"We at HP, therefore, have the duty to inform our customers that by using genuine toner or cartridge, they will have a better return on their investment by the purchase of HP printers, because it lasts longer and you are sure it will give you better quality every time," said Munyororo.

The company is currently introducing graphic arts products, which will improve speeds and the cost of digital printing in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. The regional roll-out is part of a worldwide release to support HP's Print 2.0 Strategy, designed to capture more digital pages from the analog print market to enable customers to take advantage of new market segments and business opportunities.

"The new products range from high-speed inkjets, offset and photo-quality liquid electrophotographic, and large-format printing," said Walter de Meyer, the HP Graphics GTM lead for English-speaking Africa.

The new products include a high-speed, 30-inch inkjet platform for the high-volume production of books, direct marketing materials and newspapers and a latex printing technology that offers an environmentally responsible large-format printing alternative. The company will also market its HP smartstream digital workflow portfolio, which offers customers greater flexibility with specific solutions to address a broad range of market segments and application needs.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.