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World of cartridges changing color
Aug.06.
The large containers of ink used to fill printer cartridges may soon
dwindle. The messy spots refilled cartridges leave behind will soon be
forgotten with the arrival of Cartridge World, a leading international
printer cartridge refilling brand. Founded in South Australia in 1997,
it retails from 1,500 locations worldwide. And they will fill that
empty cartridge (20 times if maintained properly) for half the cost of
an original! The international company has tied up with AFL Private
Limited, a renowned logistics brand in India. AFL will be the master
franchisee for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the
Maldives. The printer consumables industry is worth quite a few billion
dollars. India has a huge market for cartridges, which is still
scratching the surface. With the introduction of multifunctional
printers, new opportunities are being created. The Chinese market is
almost similar in size, says Mr Naveen Rakhecha, CEO of Cartridge World
(India). Cartridge Worlds first store (1,000 square feet) will open in
Mumbai in October and will be followed by franchises in Kolkata. The
outlets will be between 400 and 1,000 square feet each and franchises
need to invest around Rs 18-25 lakh (includes supplies and training in
Adelaide). In the first year of operation the company is looking at 20
stores and at the end of the third year, 250 outlets. In the eastern
region, a sizeable demand comes from Guwahati. Around 10 per cent of
the market is selling counterfeit cartridges. Taking a cartridge
manufactured by a renowned company and refilling it is not the way to
go. If the ink provided is not of the correct density, the pores get
clogged. Further, we are not selling cartridges with labels of known
manufacturers. We refill cartridges, put our tag and seal them in
packets. Each cartridge will come with a replacement guarantee and will
be priced, in an average, at almost half the original cost. It takes
huge investments to come up with chip resetter technology and, at
times, takes up to a year to crack a chip. This adds to the cost, says
Mr David Parkinson, director, franchise development (Asia) of Cartridge
World. Another consideration is the time period taken to disintegrate
the plastic that goes into a cartridge. It takes almost 450 years to
disintegrate. Abroad, we have tied up with recycling plants and the
resulting output is used to manufacture other goods. In the UK we have
instances where ink cartridges have been refilled 20 times, adds Mr
Parkinson. The process to refill laser printer toners is more complex.
Toners are disassembled and parts replaced before the refilling process
begins. The ink for the cartridges is sourced from abroad. Cartridge
World already has 400 outlets in the USA and 170 will soon be added.
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