Spread the love

The inkjet refilling business grew out of popularity of modern computer printers these days. Printers price are coming down but the price of inkjet refilling remains expensive. This business of refilling is growing because buying of new cartridge is costly than refilling. So it is advisable to refill rather than buying new one.

Before starting this business one has to decide what things are required to start this business. What kind of inventory is required, which depends upon the brand and type of refilling you want to do. And then depending on that we have to learn its refilling mechanism.

Business people required more refilling as in offices more printing is required. So you will get bulk order from these people and that too on regular basis. Supplying refilling materials to these businesses is easy because cartridges can be shipped or delivered in bulk.

Inkjet printers are most commonly used printers these days. It originated in 19th century and various companies who have inkjet printers are HP (Hewlett-Packard), canon, Epson. In the worldwide, there are four main manufacturers holding the market they are: Canon, HP, Epson and Lexmark. Inkjet printers are generally operated on two technologies. These are listed as follows:

  • Continuous inkjet ( CIJ)

In this technology, a high pressure pump is used to pump liquid ink onto reservoir through a nozzle which creates a continuous stream of ink droplets. Then these ink droplets are subjected to an electrostatic field created by changing electrode. Then charged droplets are separated by one or more uncharged “guard droplets” to minimize electrostatic repulsion between neighbouring droplets. Only small fraction of drops is used to print, majority are been recycled.CIJ is the oldest technology used in inkjet printers.

  • Drop-on-demand (DOD)

Drop-on-demand is divided into two thermal DOD and piezoelectric DOD. Most Printers Company prefers thermal DOD. In thermal inkjet printers, the print cartridges contain series of tiny chambers each containing heater. To drop ink from each chamber, a pulse of current has been passed through each heating element causing rapid vaporization of ink in chambers to form bubbles, which causes large pressure, propelling droplet of ink onto the paper.

1-printer

There are basically two head designs for ink. These are

  • Fixed head: It has inbuilt fixed head. In this, the idea is that the head need not be changed each time ink runs out, hence consumable costs reduces in this type of head. On the other hand, if the head is destroyed then its changing would be very expensive. These types of head are preferably used in industries: main manufacturing firms in this are HP, canon, Epson.
  • Disposable head: In this every time the ink finishes you have to replace the entire ink cartridge and print head with new one. So in this type, the consumable cost is more than fixed head.

Before starting inkjet refilling business, one must go through market and do proper market evaluation. When looking for market, you must follow these thumb rules:

  • About 75% of home printers used inkjet refilling
  • About 50% of office printers used inkjet refilling
  • Senior citizens show more concern for the cost, so they buy ink in bulk or prefer refilling.
  • There are certain businesses that prefer inkjet refilling, they are as follows :
  • Graphic design firms
  • Engineering firms
  • Advertising firms
  • Photographic businesses
  • Architectural businesses

After doing market evaluation, you must decide which operation you want to perform. The key areas of operations are as follows:

  • Equipment: Equipments are available at three different steps depending upon the volume of materials these are also dependent on different business levels. Some are listed as:
  • Beginning equipment: In this kit , basic things required to refill cartridges are included as things like:
  • Syringes
  • Adjustable wrench
  • Ink
  • Labels
  • Supply of vinyl electrical tape
  • Packing materials
  • Hand drill
  • Glue gum and glue stick supply
  • Medium level equipment: In this, little high level things are included for more volume refilling. These are:
  • Air powered syringes
  • Air powered vices
  • Drill press
  • High volume equipment: These are as follows
  • Self contained refill equipment
  • Custom refill equipment
  • Ink: Initial ink requirement depends upon your customers. But one can follow some basic steps initially to get sufficient stock of ink. There are basically two types of ink available:
  • Black ink
  • Colour ink

There are other inks also, but their demand is limited as they are used in very rare printer’s models. So no need to keep that stock with you as this will just tie your money down. Do not purchase more than 1 pint (450 ml) of ink of any type unless your volume of sales increases. On canon printers only 2ml ink is required to refill and some of larger HP cartridges requires 60ml of ink to refill. Black ink is more popular than colour ink. But you can make more profit by selling colour ink since it has more profit margins.

  • Cartridges: This one is the most difficult part of refilling business as here cartridges are required. Several options in this type are as follows:
  • This is a service type of business. Here you take empty cartridges from customer, fill it for them with ink and then return it to customers. And you charge customer for this refilling service and ink.
  • You buy old cartridges also.
  • Create conversion kit.
  • Purchase generic cartridges.

After operations, then comes the sales part, which is most important for any business to survive in the market. Sales can be made best by following these steps:

  • One can visit personally companies that are using inkjet printers more and offer to refill these cartridges for them on regularly basis. This will become easy for you too to pick up cartridges, refill them and give them back periodically. So constant income will come like this from your business.
  • You can link up with some local computer operators for refilling of cartridges.

If you want to start refilling business, there are various benefits like:

  • Unlimited business opportunity: Business is about finding opportunity and take advantage of them timely. This type of business has great potential these days. Nowadays almost every home and business have printers.
  • Rapid return on investment (ROI): In refilling business, the return is very rapid. With bulk sales you can recover your investment in very less time, say few months only.
  • Comprehensive training program: There are various online and offline programs that provide training for refilling of both toner and inkjet cartridges. These programs help you to know all the basic things that you must know about refilling.
  • Affordable start-up investment: To start your own refilling business, the initial investment is very minimal. The start-up kit contains all basic things required in refilling cartridges. Hence, this is an affordable option for business.
  • Ongoing supply of inkjet: Once your business grows as your sales increases, the supplies are easily available in market for sale. So no issues of shortage of supplies.
  • Save your customers money: The refilling of cartridges business is an ongoing business irrespective of recession. Even in recession period this business will remain in demand. So it’s equally profitable for both the businessmen and the customers.
  • Great environmental impact: This business also help environment by refilling or reusing empty cartridges rather than throwing up things in the environment.

Challenges for starting refilling business are as follows:

Replacing your empty printer cartridges every time they run out is expensive, and it also takes a toll on the environment. So Refilling Businesses provide ink and toner cartridge refilling that can save consumers money, and also help protect the environment from unnecessary waste products. Whether you really want to give contribution to the environment and save customers money, a small scale business plan named ink and toner cartridge refill may be the right choice for you.

Some of the benefits of starting an inkjet cartridge refilling business include:

  • It helps the environment because it reduces cartridges in landfills.
  • Starting refilling business cost is relatively low.
  • Various starts up kits are available to help you get started.
  • In this type of business, franchise opportunity is also available.
  • You can do the business home-based, mobile or have satellite locations.
  • Demands for refillables are increasing day by day.
  • You can service individual residences or businesses.

Various services that a refilling business can offer to customers are as follows:

  • Recharging of used inkjet cartridges
  • Free cartridges care service
  • Free and unbiased printer selection
  • Printer repair service
  • Free collection and delivery of refilled cartridges
  • Original cartridges of various companies
  • Printer accessories
  • Regular and specialty papers
  • Office and fax supplies
  • Storage devices
  • Printers of popular brands

Various machines are available to refill the inkjet printers. And they have some steps to follow in order to refill ink. Some technical features of these machines are as follows:

  • Full digital body
  • One complete unit for filling ink
  • Ink tanks are removable

  • Easy use of sensitive filling needles
  • Digital indicator help to know exact filling amount
  • Micro data process
  • Automatic testing pumps
  • Low energy consumption
  • Fully digital body

Colour cartridge filling process is as follows:

Colour Part Filling:

  • Before starting refilling, must check that head need to be clean and not dry.
  • Then start the machine.
  • If any fault is there, the machine will tell you itself about that by giving error signal.
  • Press RESET button.
  • When you see “ready “signal on screen, then insert the needle into cartridge.
  • Press the right choice depending on your requirement.
  • Machines will automatically adjust the ink level.
  • You will see on screen when cartridge fills. And if it does not get filled completely then machine will show you on screen and you can restart machine again.
  • To cancel any operation, press RESET button.

Filling Via Clips:

  • Attach filling by tubes to refill it with ink.
  • Press the RESET button.
  • When you see ready button, start refilling button to start refilling.
  • Choose time 10,20,30,40.
  • Press filling by clips button again to start filling.

Vacuuming:

  1. Vacuuming From Nozzles:
  • Take out the vacuum needle and hold it on the head of the cartridge.
  • Then Press Vacuum button.
  • Try to keep the vacuum to be placed on cartridge continuously without any separation from the cartridge.
  1. Vacuuming With Needle:
  • When you see Ready signal on the screen, insert the needle into the cartridge.
  • Press Vacuum button.
  1. Vacuuming With Clips:
  • Take out the vacuum needle.
  • Attach the tube to the clip.
  • Press Vacuum button.

Cautions:

Printer manufacturers may threaten warranty problems for printer owners who use non-factory or refill printer cartridges. This is an objection that you are likely to encounter when attempting to secure new customers. Ink and toner cartridge refill businesses that plan to have a lot of truck or customer traffic at home should consult with their local or county clerk about zoning regulations in advance.

Conclusion:

Starting inkjet cartridge refilling business can be a profitable venture for entrepreneurs who do not mind getting their hands dirty at work. To prevent people from buying a new printer for the price of a refilling kit, companies have replaced the full ink or toner cartridge with a sort of starter kit. Hence the inkjet refilling business is good to make money with less initial investment but with quick return on investment. The main thing here is marketing strategy to market your business. One has to learn refilling process before starting the business and also the market evaluation is a must to know the customers and the type of ink they are using for refilling. However, inkjet refilling business is a good option for small business to earn good income.

About Author

megaincome

MegaIncomeStream is a global resource for Business Owners, Marketers, Bloggers, Investors, Personal Finance Experts, Entrepreneurs, Financial and Tax Pundits, available online. egaIncomeStream has attracted millions of visits since 2012 when it started publishing its resources online through their seasoned editorial team. The Megaincomestream is arguably a potential Pulitzer Prize-winning source of breaking news, videos, features, and information, as well as a highly engaged global community for updates and niche conversation. The platform has diverse visitors, ranging from, bloggers, webmasters, students and internet marketers to web designers, entrepreneur and search engine experts.