Princeton, N.j. - 5 July, 2005 -

Yulliya Bukhareva doesn't want her customers worrying about getting ink on their hands or having to follow instructions to the letter when changing the cartridges in their printer. It's her job to do it for them. Bukhareva and her husband, Riad Jafarov, opened Island Ink-Jet five months ago in the Oxford Valley Mall. The Canada-based franchise specializes in refilling printer cartridges. "We were looking for a fresh idea, something new," said Bukhareva, an immigrant from Russia and mother of one. "I read an article in the Wall Street Journal on Island Ink-Jet and decided to give them a call." Island Ink-Jet is a growing chain of shopping mall kiosks where consumers can have ink cartridges for their printers refilled or replaced. The organization was founded in 1997 and began as a wholesale supplier of refill kits and compatible cartridges. Founder Rob Dixon and CEO Carey Porcher recognized that many customers would rather have someone else do the work refilling the cartridges. Together, they came up with the idea of refill services in shopping centers where consumers can refill their cartridges as part of their normal shopping routines. Bukhareva traveled to Canada to meet with the company and to train for two weeks. She then decided to set up her kiosk in the mall in Middletown. "I used to live in this area," said Bukhareva, who now resides in Princeton, N.J. "There are a lot of people here and we want to help them save money. Island Ink-Jet is very popular in Europe and Canada but people in America don't really know a lot about it. That's why we decided to open one here." The company sells brands such as Hewlett Packard, Dell and Lexmark, as well as Island Ink-Jet brand. Cartridges range in price but will save customers up to 60 percent over retail price. The aver- age price for a refill at Island Ink-Jet is $15. A typical cartridge costs about $45. Island Ink-Jet also sells laser toner cartridges, which can be ordered by phone and shipped to Bukhareva has been in business for five months. "Each month the business is growing and growing," she said. "Our customers are telling their friends and coworkers about it. It takes about 15 to 30 minutes to refill a cartridge and we guarantee our services. If the customer is not pleased, they can return and we'll try to correct the problem. If not, we'll give them a full refund. If people are looking for quality and a way to save money, we know they're going to come back." The refill service helps conserve both oil and landfill space by reducing new cartridge manufacturing as well as the 300 million cartridges currently consigned to the garbage every year, according to Island Ink-Jet. Approximately eight cartridges are thrown away every second in the United States.

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