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Where to save a buck
-- several bucks --
on printer ink

INSANE savings on computer printers are quickly eaten up by the cost of ink cartridges, right? Brandon Hughes talked to many people and "everyone seemed emotionally charged" about the cost of replacement cartridges.

FILL THEM UP Two stores offer discount ink: » Mr. Ink Plus, at the Coral Commercial Center in Kakaako, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. » Cartridge World at the Aiea Town Square, is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"They would go off on me," he said, citing a 67-year-old Japanese man who was very upset over the expense of cartridges for his inexpensive printer.

Terrence Iwamoto also saw a huge opportunity in serving the desire among consumers and businesses for a less costly alternative.

Both men opened stores to serve that desire earlier this year.

Hughes' Cartridge World offers a cartridge-refilling service for inkjet and laser printers, photocopy and fax machines as well as ready-to-purchase refilled and new cartridges. About half his business is corporate accounts.

An HP 56 cartridge, for instance, can be filled for $10.50, versus the more than $19 price at a big-box retailer. Refilling costs about 30 percent less than the bundled packs of new cartridges sold at wholesale warehouse stores, he said.

Toner cartridges can be refilled for 30 to 40 percent below regular retail.

Cartridge World opened at the end of April at the Aiea Town Square, between Aiea Public Library and the Aiea Post Office on Kauhale Street -- on the makai side of Moanalua Road.

Iwamoto's Mr. Ink Plus opened in May at the Coral Commercial Center in Kakaako.

"We have compatibles at about half the (regular retail) price," Iwamoto said. Compatibles are cartridges that will fit and work in name-brand printers, copy machines and the like.

Mr. Ink Plus stocks the most popular cartridges, said clerk Dwight Yoshimoto. Less-common cartridges can be ordered with about a one-week delivery wait, depending on when the order is placed. The store also sells do-it-yourself inkjet printer refill kits.

Similar kits are also available online or at Costco, but Hughes said he has received mixed reviews from customers who have used them. Some have made messes on tables and carpets and some were unhappy with print quality.

Cartridge World has 75 different inks for varied printer needs.

Both stores accept empty cartridges in exchange for a credit toward future purchases.

However, the stores will pay nonprofits and schools hard cash for empty cartridges, giving them a way to raise funds by collecting empty ink packs around town.

Mr. Ink Plus will pay churches and nonprofits from 25 cents to $2 per cartridge, depending on the type. Nonprofits must register with the store, providing proof of 501(c)(3) status.

Cartridge World is working with different schools on cartridge-collecting fund-raising drives, letting them know there is no longer a need to mail the cartridges to the mainland for refilling.

"It's an awesome fund-raiser. It's just so easy for them to do. There's no collection of cash and they don't have to have the kids out selling stuff," Hughes said.

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