GMAT Critical Reasoning - Advances in Photocopying Technology Allow Criminals with no Printing Expertise

Question: Advances in photocopying technology allow criminals with no printing expertise to counterfeit paper currency. One standard anti-counterfeiting technique, microprinting, prints paper currency with tiny designs that cannot be photocopied distinctly. Although counterfeits of microprinted currency can be detected easily by experts, such counterfeits often circulate widely before being detected. An alternative, though more costly, printing technique would print currency with a special ink. Currency printed with the ink would change color depending on how ordinary light strikes it, whereas photocopied counterfeits of such currency would not. Because this technique would allow anyone to detect photocopied counterfeit currency easily, it should be adopted instead of microprinting, despite the expense.

Which one of the following, if true, provides the most undermines the argument?

(A) The longer the interval between the time a counterfeit bill passes into circulation and the time for counterfeit is detected, the more difficult it is for law law enforcement officials to apprehend the counterfeiter.
(B) Sophisticated counterfeiters could produce currency printed with the special ink but cannot duplicate microprinted currency exactly.
(C) Further advances in photocopying technology will dramatically increases the level of details that photocopies can reproduce.
(D) The largest quantities of counterfeit currency now entering circulation are produced by ordinary criminals who engage in counterfeiting only briefly.
(E) It is very difficult to make accurate estimates of what costs to society would be if large amounts of counterfeit currency circulated widely.

“Advances in photocopying technology allow criminals with no printing expertise to counterfeit paper currency” – is a GMAT Critical question. To answer the question, a candidate can by either finding a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or logical flaws in the argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: B
Explanation:

The GMAT critical reasoning section tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidate. The candidate has to use his/her reasoning skills and deducing skills to find the logically correct answer.

The passage says, thanks to advancements in photocopying technology, even those without any printing experience can make fake paper money. Microprinting, a common anti-counterfeiting technology, imprints paper money with minute motifs that are difficult to photocopy. Experts can easily spot counterfeits of cash with microprints, yet these counterfeits frequently circulate widely before being found. A different, more expensive printing method would use specialised ink to print money. Contrary to photocopied counterfeits of such coin, real currency printed with the ink would change hue depending on how ordinary light reflects off of it. Despite the cost, this method should be used instead of micro printing because it makes it simple for anyone to spot replicated counterfeit money.

Now checking the options given in the question,

A: Incorrect:
Answer (A) adds another another reason in favour of the concept because microprinted bills usually go unnoticed for long periods of time.

B: Correct:
B is accurate. B contends that while skilled forgers won't be able to effectively forge bills with microprinting, they will be able to do it using special ink. That is a pretty compelling justification to continue using microprinting, as the alternative could result in a significant amount of undetectable counterfeit currency in circulation.

C: Incorrect:
C deals with the accuracy of detail reproduction by photocopiers. C says nothing about the unique ink being reproduced by photocopiers. So C welcomes the suggestion to utilise special ink and hypothesises that photocopiers may improve at reproducing microprinting in the future.

D: Incorrect:
D contends that hardly much effort is put forward by forgers to create counterfeit money. At the moment, you can just photocopy the microprinted money, but D believes that if genuine money included elements, like specific ink, that were challenging to copy without putting in a lot of work, many counterfeiters wouldn't bother. D concurs with the advice to use specialty ink, thus.

E: Incorrect:
Since the argument states that the idea should be approved regardless of cost, E is irrelevant and we don't care what they are.

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