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Rapid Refill Has Lots Of Liquid Assets PDF

The Tampa Tribune

January 30, 2008

CARROLLWOOD — Most customers come into Rapid Refill Ink toting an empty printer cartridge looking for ink. Chances are the ink depot will have the right color combinations. The new business on North Dale Mabry Highway carries more than 70 black ink formulas used to refill various makes and models of printers. They also have a slew of cyan, magenta and yellow ink for color printers. But getting an ink refill isn't like pulling in for a 10-minute oil change. Rapid Refill Ink sells rebuilt cartridges that have been cleaned, refilled and repackaged, ready to be popped into the printer.

"It's kind of like an exchange program," said owner Bob Giest. Giest of Westchase opened the inkjet and laser toner cartridges refill store in November at 10416 N. Dale Mabry Highway, about a half-mile north of Linebaugh Avenue. The storefront is the first in Hillsborough County. The store carries about 1,500 different inkjet and toner cartridges, he said.

Their business model is based on the idea of getting people to use recycled cartridges, thereby decreasing the amount of industrial-grade plastic. Nearly 2 billion cartridges end up in landfills worldwide each year, Giest said. A typical printer cartridge can be reused and refilled up to 10 times, and it can take up to 1,000 years for cartridges to biodegrade in a landfill, he said. When customers bring in empty cartridges, they get tossed into the store's recycling bin. Workers begin a multi-stepped refilling process that includes taking the cartridge apart, flushing the ink out, cleaning the thousands of pinholes in the printer head, letting the cartridge dry, refilling it with the manufacturer's specific ink formula combination, and repackaging.

The refilled cartridges cost 30 to 50 percent less than new ones, Giest said. He said the franchise is focused on being environmentally friendly, including the store's design. The store's counter looks like granite, but is made from compressed sunflower seed husks. A mural shows 60 endangered species. The wall slats are made of 100 percent wheat stock, and the carpeting is made in part from recycled milk containers.

The company began in 2002 in Portland, Ore., and is now based in Minneapolis.

RAPID REFILL INK
ADDRESS: 10416 N. Dale Mabry Highway
HOURS: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
PHONE: (813) 514-0680
Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

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This is not an offer to purchase a franchise. Offerings are made by Uniform Franchise Offering Circular only.

For information relating to a Rapid Refill Ink franchise opportunity, please contact our Franchise Development Department. This website is not, nor should it be construed to be, an offer to sell a Rapid Refill Ink franchise. The communications are not directed by or for Rapid Refill Corp. (or its agents) to the residents of any state that requires registration of a franchise before offering and selling a franchise in that state, to the extent that Rapid Refill Ink is not registered in that state. No Rapid Refill Ink franchise will be sold to any resident of any such jurisdiction until the offering has been exempted from the requirements of, or duly registered in and declared effective by, such jurisdiction and the required Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (if any) has been delivered to the prospective franchisee before the sale in compliance with applicable law. If you have any questions concerning the registration status of Rapid Refill Ink franchises in your jurisdiction, please contact our Franchise Development Department at 877-880-4465 or franchise@rapidrefillink.com. All information is subject to change. Always refer to the Rapid Refill Ink Franchise Development Department for the most up to date information.