Yesterday's story about a raid on a fake DVD operation, and the subsequent arrest of some print workers, called to mind an incident from a few years back.

A printing company boss had found himself unwittingly embroiled in a counterfeiting ring, having had no reason to believe the work he had been asked to print wasn't actually legit. Nightmare.

In some cases it would of course be blindingly obvious if something is suspicious - the trade in pirated DVDs, for example, is known to be linked to Chinese organised crime. So if a Chinese chap turns up wanting to pay cash for a load of DVD inners for a film that's still showing in cinemas, one wouldn't need to be Einstein to figure out that he's probably not working for Warner Home Video.

However, the multi-billion pound global counterfeiting trade is enormous, encompassing a vast array of products beyond the obvious stuff like DVDs, watches and handbags. And with so much print being place via third parties these days, how's a printco to know if every order is pukka or not?