Gadgetopia

I think it would be cheaper and provide a better service if you simply sold carts from 123inkjets or a similar company.

There's a place here at U of I - run by a couple of alums - called Back in Business cartridges. They refill ink cartridges while you wait and sell remanufactured/generic ink and toner cartridges. They even have a delivery service. Plus, they're closer to campus than any of the big chains like Best Buy.

Deane, I saw one of these near here...I actually thought in the Empire Mall, but could be mistaken.
I just bought from 4inkjets.com and it was super-cheap. Aff program pays 25% as well.

Have you ever heard of Caboodle Cartridge? They're the same concept as Island Ink Jet but it's just a regular store where you go in and get your already-refilled cartridges without waiting for anyone to fill them up. They collect empty cartridges in the store and give you money back against your new one, and then refill in a factory. They're a franchise too.

i work at island inkjet and i think its really great becuz it saves ppl alot of money and time, they can shop the mall while we fill and then their ready when they are done

Check out this Argus Leader article and scroll down to "Ink recycling".

Anyone want to learn about inkjet drop me a line. I was the area developer for Ontario prior to becoming Pres. We opened 50 stores there. We own about 17 of them.

We have hands on experience.

Armin Sachse President Island Ink-Jet. asachse@islandinkjet.com

Anyone want to learn about inkjet drop me a line. I was the area developer for Ontario prior to becoming Pres. We opened 50 stores there. We own about 17 of them.

We have hands on experience.

Armin Sachse President Island Ink-Jet. asachse@islandinkjet.com

Stay away from this franchise. They are down from 254 overall to a few over 200 due to the ineptness of the above individual and its' current CEO.

current ceo he is no more... company is back under control....expect to see more of island inkjet..

"Stay away from this franchise. They are down from 254 overall to a few over 200 due to the ineptness of the above individual and its' (sic) current CEO."

This comment does not help those of us who wish to get our printer toner on the cheap, so to speak. Why don't you save that sort of assessment for a franchise fair? My experience is that I got my toner cartridges re-filled for a lot less coin than buying replacements, and the Island people were O.K.

As for el presidente "Anyone want to learn about inkjet drop me a line. I was the area developer for Ontario prior to becoming Pres. We opened 50 stores there. We own about 17 of them. We have hands on experience."; well that is quite insipid, "hands on experience". That trite expression from the 1980s is meaningless. A muralist looking for a lucrative commission can use that honestly, without overtly speaking of his kindergarten finger-painting.

Neglect the posturing, their service is useful to me, and if anybody can help me re-fill my toner tanks for less money, I am eager to hear your ideas. Does anybody know anything about those injection kits that can be had from office supply stores?

They are dropping like flies, the product works, existing franchises are great but the company...not so much. To bad, where the heck to go when they are gone?

omg like these things are incredible.When i used it it worked.

Press release: Sept 28, 2009 Island Ink-Jet outlets are still open for business Island Ink-Jet store owners did not close their doors when the franchisor failed. This is a lesson on how franchisees can survive when the franchisor fails to deliver.
When it became evident that the franchisor was in deep financial difficulties, franchisees had two options; do nothing and go down with the franchisor like many systems have done before or group together and build a better system.
They were not the type of people who would stand still and fail and took the latter route. Armin Sachse, who was one of the first franchisees and the first area developer in the system, said “We are pleased to announce that the Island Ink-Jet reorganization has been accomplished and the new improved Island Associate Program (IAP) has successfully replaced the failed franchisor without any impact upon our valued customer base. Our clients will still be able to find us under the familiar sign of the two scarlet macaws. The stores continue to delay the trip to the landfill for thousands of inkjet cartridges each and every day.” In a few cases, the involvement of the failed franchisor in the head lease created some legal issues that took some time to work out. The unit operators had developed a close and positive working relationship with mall management. Malls recognized it was not the franchisee’s fault the franchisor failed and worked with the local unit operator to ensure a speedy transition so as to minimize or eliminate any financial hardship on the franchisee and to keep their “Green” service operating. Armin describes their business segment as “Repetitive Mandatory Purchasing. The clients in our target market buy when they need to buy, not when we are ready to sell. When they run out of ink, not getting ink immediately is not an option. We have to ensure that the Associate has the tools to be there just before their clients realize they need to buy.” He adds “Customer retention is critical in this market as repeat business is the life blood of our business. We were fortunate to be able to retain the key suppliers and build the required support systems so that the operators could continue to deliver a high quality, value-added service in a market efficient manner at an acceptable price.” The network has refilled over 9,000,000 cartridges and has developed a solid consumer base in the home printing segment. They are leveraging this success to make significant inroads into the B2B business print market. They will be launching a new unique user friendly e-commerce site to meet the needs of the B2B market.
Being seen as Green still generates a significant marketing advantage. The unit owners marketing efforts successfully introduced the need to recycle in the early part of the decade, long before Al Gore made it popular. Most Green initiatives that have an up front cost that may result in a saving some time in the future. Island Associates deliver a significant and an immediate saving to their clients with every refilled cartridge. Armin reminds us that “Supporting a Canadian owned and operated business makes more sense today than ever before. It is simply good for the community.” About Island Associates Island Associates offers a complete product supply and product support program for ink refillers across Canada and supplies the same high quality inks and print consumables their customers have been accustomed to receiving. The Island Associate Program has a strong centralized empowered management team qualified by virtue of their formal education, exposure to the industry culture, and practical experience. It is a combination of skills that sets us apart from the other ink and product suppliers. For further information about becoming an Associate please e-mail us at info@eqleasing.ca.

Interesting comments. the concept was valid but the execution was not there.

The process is still alive and under a Associate program rather than a franchise in Canada.
The head office is now off the island and in Toronto GTA Good ecommerce site. Great help desk.

Better logistics and systems economics much better.

Hope that they do well but the inability to fill Epson and Lexmark, two of the big four, will make this shrinking market tougher and tougher. I wish them the best though.

I wish all ex-franchisees of Island Ink-Jet who have decided to join Armin Sachse's Island Associate Program lots of luck. Hold on to your hats and wallets because it's going to be an interesting ride. For those of you who are running your business as Island Ink-Jet and have joined the new Island Associate Program you should all be aware that you are using Island Ink-Jet Systems Inc. trademarks which do not belong to Mr. Sachse, nor The Equipment Leasing Company.

I was an employee of Island Ink-Jet for 9 plus years. I had seen many Presidents come into the the company including Armin Sachse. With Armin owning many of his own locations in Ontario as well as being the Area Developer for Ontario he seemed like the perfect candidate, he also was nominated as President of the Franchise Association Commitee. Even with this background I was extremely leery. At this point I could go into greater details however, the fact that ALL ex-franchisees have not joined his Island Assosicate Program, in my opinions speaks volumes as to the integrity of this man.

If Armin Sachse was to form his own independant company without using the exisiting Island Ink-Jet branding, including parrots, colours and verbage, how successful do you think he would be?

As per Sachle's comments regarding the decreasing number of locations, we can thank Mr. Sachse for his contributions to these numbers, as president for 2 years, he and he alone had TOTAL control.

In closing, this post has no bearing on my last name. I am posting this as a former employee who witnessed Mr Sachse's ineptness first hand.

Carey Porcher took charge in September of 2006. All of the Canadian franchises were paying royalties at that time. This is October 2009 three years later.

Although the majority of the remaining franchisees have joined the association, close to 100 % of them stoped paying royalties to head office which caused head office to close it doors.

I suggest all people who need a quality service, look up the nearest island inkjet store regardless of whether they are an independent or an associate.

I would not consider 25 locations out of 119 to be the majority of locations with 10-17 of them being Equipment Leasing Company locations. But yes people who need inkjet or toner should visit an Island Location as they are the best in Canada!

Your numbers are way out of date.