Founded in 1997, Island Ink-Jet began as a wholesale supplier of refill kits and
compatible cartridges. The company moved into the retail arena with
merchandising displays, peddling its products in bookstores and other venues.
Recognizing that many customers interested in the refill concept would rather
have someone else do the work, founder Rob Dixon and CEO Carey Porcher then
conceived of offering a refill service through kiosks in shopping centers where
consumers can refresh their cartridges as part of their normal shopping
routines.
The company began franchising in 2000, sticking primarily to regional shopping
malls but also opening in a few smaller shopping centers as well as within some
Wal-Mart® and bank locations.
Each location is staffed by personnel trained to provide refill services using
the company’s procedures as well as 100 different ink formulations designed to
be used in specific combinations to ensure the best performance with each
cartridge brand. Specially designed drilling tools, syringes, print head
cleaners, vacuum machines to create a vacuum to get the ink flowing, resetting
tools that reset the microchips in the cartridges, and other equipment ensure
the refilled cartridge will function as well as the original.
In addition, each Island Ink-Jet™ outlet sells a full complement of ink-jet
aftermarket products, including refill kits for Canon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard
and Lexmark inkjet/bubble jet printers as well as ink-jet and laser toner
compatible cartridges for most major models of printers. The company’s
compatible cartridges cost up to 50% less than their name-brand counterparts.
Staffers are trained to educate customers on issues such as how to care for a
given cartridge to maximize its refill life, how to get the best results when
printing digital photographs, what kind of paper works best with what kind of
cartridge, and even whether a specific printer will deliver the reproduction
quality desired.
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