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Xprinter Cuban Cigars Analysis

Hi Wilkey,

I have to join in with others and congratulate you. Impressive work. Hard to disagree with anything you said.
Look forward to the next CSI work.


Oh by the way, a word of caution to the newbies while shopping. As a matter of policy anything that is not bought through a reputable shop or an LCDH BY YOURSEL, is fake until proven otherwise. Especially in ISOM unless you bought it in an LCDH don't bother bringing it back because I can guarrantee you a hunderd and fifty percent you have been had.
 
Wilkey Excellent job in the review, Breakdown, and detailed explaination. I learned quite a bit from this post.



Deez
 
Wilkey,

Great job and thanks for another highly informative forensic analysis. Sure makes life a little easier for all of us.

antaean
 
Hi everybody!
First off I must thank Ginseng and lucasbuck for their help in this matter. I would have replied to this thread sooner but when my work week starts all I have time to do is work, sleep, and eat.
When I got the box of Cohibas their was one stamp on the box that raised a red flag for me and I knew that I needed help.
I guess a little background might help here. Until computers became as popular as they are now I was a commerical printer for 17 years, I know printing especially quality printing, with ink, embossing, hot foil, and numbering.(and no you don't need to spell to be a printer as you can see) In that time I have printed over 100,000,000 pieces working in 4 shops.
The printing and foil and embossing of these bands and boxes are of the highest quality and I would have been proud to have produce them myself. I almost wonder if they arn't real. The construction of the cigars looked like the few real ones that I had, and they smoked really good to me with having only tried a few real ones befor. The biggest thing to me on this is I never sold any of these, I would have felt like shit if that would have happened.
The bottom line is I did a stupid thing by getting them on the black market and not going to a legitmate source, trying to save a few bucks actually cost me more. You know if its to good to be true.................With any luck sombody will learn somthing from this, and if you are unshure befor buying somthing ask for help these guys here have been great.
As far as my source lets just say I'm going to make my federal taxe dollars work for me.
As far as what I'm going to with the cigars, I've decited to give them away to members here to inspect, smoke, and take apart, hopefully so they might be better informed on fakes and not get taken. I'm going to run a thread in the Buy/Sell/Trade & Group Purchases latter on today or tomorrow so you'll have to look for details there.
I hope this all makes sence as it is 8:30am and that is way way past my bed time.
Well I guess thats about all I can think of I'm sure their is somthing eles I wanted to add but all I can think of right now is a warm bed.
......................xprinter........................
 
xprinter said:
Hi everybody!
First off I must thank Ginseng and lucasbuck for their help in this matter. I would have replied to this thread sooner but when my work week starts all I have time to do is work, sleep, and eat.
When I got the box of Cohibas their was one stamp on the box that raised a red flag for me and I knew that I needed help.
I guess a little background might help here. Until computers became as popular as they are now I was a commerical printer for 17 years, I know printing especially quality printing, with ink, embossing, hot foil, and numbering.(and no you don't need to spell to be a printer as you can see) In that time I have printed over 100,000,000 pieces working in 4 shops.
The printing and foil and embossing of these bands and boxes are of the highest quality and I would have been proud to have produce them myself. I almost wonder if they arn't real. The construction of the cigars looked like the few real ones that I had, and they smoked really good to me with having only tried a few real ones befor. The biggest thing to me on this is I never sold any of these, I would have felt like shit if that would have happened.
The bottom line is I did a stupid thing by getting them on the black market and not going to a legitmate source, trying to save a few bucks actually cost me more. You know if its to good to be true.................With any luck sombody will learn somthing from this, and if you are unshure befor buying somthing ask for help these guys here have been great.
As far as my source lets just say I'm going to make my federal taxe dollars work for me.
As far as what I'm going to with the cigars, I've decited to give them away to members here to inspect, smoke, and take apart, hopefully so they might be better informed on fakes and not get taken. I'm going to run a thread in the Buy/Sell/Trade & Group Purchases latter on today or tomorrow so you'll have to look for details there.
I hope this all makes sence as it is 8:30am and that is way way past my bed time.
Well I guess thats about all I can think of I'm sure their is somthing eles I wanted to add but all I can think of right now is a warm bed.
......................xprinter........................
Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

I'm glad ot help out. I'm sad to say that I am getting more and more requests to do authentication. This is either a good sign (people are are careful and critical about their cigars) or a bad sign (more people are buying fakes).

I think the idea of giving away specimens as learning opportunities is a good thing but you must be careful. Ask for a nominal amount to cover actual shipping costs. Make it absolutely clear these are fakes. I would even go so far as to suggest that you write on the band and the cigar itself with indelible marker "FAKE" to prevent their ever being mistaken for the real deal.

Again, let me offer my thanks for being man enough to step up and share this experience with the community. :thumbs:

Wilkey
 
Ginseng said:
xprinter said:
Hi everybody!
First off I must thank Ginseng and lucasbuck for their help in this matter. I would have replied to this thread sooner but when my work week starts all I have time to do is work, sleep, and eat.
When I got the box of Cohibas their was one stamp on the box that raised a red flag for me and I knew that I needed help.
I guess a little background might help here. Until computers became as popular as they are now I was a commerical printer for 17 years, I know printing especially quality printing, with ink, embossing, hot foil, and numbering.(and no you don't need to spell to be a printer as you can see) In that time I have printed over 100,000,000 pieces working in 4 shops.
The printing and foil and embossing of these bands and boxes are of the highest quality and I would have been proud to have produce them myself. I almost wonder if they arn't real. The construction of the cigars looked like the few real ones that I had, and they smoked really good to me with having only tried a few real ones befor. The biggest thing to me on this is I never sold any of these, I would have felt like shit if that would have happened.
The bottom line is I did a stupid thing by getting them on the black market and not going to a legitmate source, trying to save a few bucks actually cost me more. You know if its to good to be true.................With any luck sombody will learn somthing from this, and if you are unshure befor buying somthing ask for help these guys here have been great.
As far as my source lets just say I'm going to make my federal taxe dollars work for me.
As far as what I'm going to with the cigars, I've decited to give them away to members here to inspect, smoke, and take apart, hopefully so they might be better informed on fakes and not get taken. I'm going to run a thread in the Buy/Sell/Trade & Group Purchases latter on today or tomorrow so you'll have to look for details there.
I hope this all makes sence as it is 8:30am and that is way way past my bed time.
Well I guess thats about all I can think of I'm sure their is somthing eles I wanted to add but all I can think of right now is a warm bed.
......................xprinter........................
Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

I'm glad ot help out. I'm sad to say that I am getting more and more requests to do authentication. This is either a good sign (people are are careful and critical about their cigars) or a bad sign (more people are buying fakes).

I think the idea of giving away specimens as learning opportunities is a good thing but you must be careful. Ask for a nominal amount to cover actual shipping costs. Make it absolutely clear these are fakes. I would even go so far as to suggest that you write on the band and the cigar itself with indelible marker "FAKE" to prevent their ever being mistaken for the real deal.

Again, let me offer my thanks for being man enough to step up and share this experience with the community. :thumbs:

Wilkey
Click to expand...
Good Idea with the bands I WILL do that
 
Ginseng said:
...I would even go so far as to suggest that you write on the band and the cigar itself with indelible marker "FAKE" to prevent their ever being mistaken for the real deal....
Click to expand...

I agree bro :thumbs:
 
Nice job with the detective work. You can buy real bands, seals, warantee labels etc... online now. It is making it way too easy for the counterfeiters.
 
He's the one they call Dr. Bada$$.
 
Wilkey, that was the best analysis I have ever seen on the subject !!!!!!

So impressive in fact that I would buy a book that you would write on such matters, and if there is anything you can recommend for now bookwise with similar content I would really appreciate it and would get it for my library collection :thumbs:
 
I will take a stab at it. USA it has english lettering on it STUD
 
Ginseng said:
Thanks for the kind words, gentlemen. :thumbs:

CgarDan,
There is no such written reference. Much of this is scattered about not only on a multitude of cigar forums but inside the heads of the people on the forums.

Now, here's a question for you guys out there, but especially for Wurm.

I just received the boxes that these counterfeits came in. The Partagas Serie P. No. 2 SBN has a brooch (clasp) closure as expected. Now can you guess the country of manufacture of the clasp? Here is a shot of the front of the clasp.
XprinterPSP2Brooch02.jpg


Wilkey
Click to expand...

Well my guess since I KNOW its not cuba would be India?
 
Nigeria!

Did I win the Opus maddie :0

Brian
 
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