Chicago – A new battle is brewing in the technology trenches over a very old product: ink.
Major retailers are cutting the cost in half for refilled inkjet printer cartridges, taking a once grimy task for hobbyists, who refuse to pay $20 to more than $200 for a new cartridge, and making it available to the masses.
Last week, OfficeMax Inc. kicked off a marketing campaign for its inkjet refill services across its 900-store chain. Colorado is home to 28 OfficeMax stores.
Next week, Walgreens Co. begins a roll out of refill stations at 1,500 of its more than 5,100 stores. There are 108 Walgreen’s stores in Colorado.
The big chains are joining upstarts like Cartridge World, which has spread rapidly throughout the Chicago area.
There are currently six Cartidge World stores in Colorado, and the company plans to open 50 to 55 stores in the state over the next three to five years.
“We want to be the Starbucks of this industry,” said Chris Gallagher, who with his brother, Todd, owns two Cartridge World franchises and plan to open as many as eight within the next three years.
The refill services offer businesses and home users a no-mess opportunity: sharply lower prices for a 10-minute wait.
“I’m of the opinion it’s just ink,” said Sean Lowry, a senior vice president for Pacor Mortgage in Chicago, whose company is hooked on the service. “An average cartridge for a good printer or copier is $100.
“If you’re using six or seven machines at the office, that’s a lot of money.”
Lowry’s company buys recycled cartridges from Cartridge World and saves about $300 a month.
“Home sales have slowed in the last year, and we’ve been trying to find ways to save money,” he said.
Thanks to the growth of digital photography, desktop publishing and affordable color printers, the digital-imaging-supplies business will top $100 billion in 2006, according to a report released March 20 by Lyra Research in Newton, Mass.
At Walgreens, customers can drop off an empty cartridge at the photo counter, and a technician will refill it in about 10 minutes, spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce said.
Prices vary depending on the model, but customers should save about 50 percent over buying a new cartridge, she said.
