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Printer cartridge franchises

Written by: Diarmuid Kieran

Article Overview: Handwritten letters are a thing of the past and today thousands of businesses across the country are using high-quality printers to produce professional documents. Of course with so much correspondence coming in and out of US offices every day there is a huge demand for printer cartridges, and those in the printer cartridge business are making extremely large profits.

Printer cartridge franchises

Handwritten letters are a thing of the past and today thousands of businesses across the country are using high-quality printers to produce professional documents. Of course with so much correspondence coming in and out of US offices every day there is a huge demand for printer cartridges, and those in the printer cartridge business are making extremely large profits.

According to Caboodle Cartridge, almost 90 per cent of cartridges sold in the US come from the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as Hewlett Packard, Canon, Epson and Lexmark, because consumers believe they are getting better quality. But new advances in the remanufacturing of printer cartridges means consumers can now get OEM-like quality at half the price by having their old ink-jet and laser printer cartridges refilled.

And of course there are other incentives to buy remanufactured cartridges than just the price. Indeed the refilling of printer cartridges helps to protect the environment; an extremely important consideration for many businesses today. So as more businesses turn to printer cartridge remanufactures to save money and up their green credentials, investing in a printer cartridge franchise could be a winning opportunity for savvy entrepreneurs looking for a fast-growing market to exploit.

Most franchisers in the printer cartridge industry will offer full training and support for their franchisees, so while helpful, previous experience running a business is not an essential requirement. However franchisees should possess certain fundamental skills that are imperative to success in any retail environment, such as management skills, sales skills and a dedication to excellent customer service.

Franchisees will be offered ongoing support from experts within the parent company, so any start up hurdles can be quickly eliminated and the road to success mapped out. They will also benefit from marketing and advertising support, so they can concentrate on the day to day running of their business without having to worry too much about the reputation of the brand as a whole.

But before jumping head first into a deal with a franchiser it is important that franchisees make sure the business is suited to their budget, skills and time commitments. Some companies offer straightforward cartridge refilling, while others offer additional services, such as digital photography processing which could yield healthy profits but require additional time and manpower. Franchisees should therefore look at a wide range of opportunities before signing on the dotted line in order to find one that's right for them.

Competition is also something to look out for. Since the cartridge remanufacturing industry is a fast growing one there are franchises popping up across the country. It is therefore critical that franchisees do their homework to make sure they are setting up the business in an area where demand is high and where rivals are unlikely to steal market share.

While cartridge remanufacturing has taken off in Europe it has yet to reach critical mass in the United States. This presents an excellent opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to exploit. Indeed figures suggest that as much as 70 percent of Hewlett Packard's operating profit comes from the selling of replacement printer supplies, so if savvy franchisees play the game right they could potentially steal a large proportion of these healthy revenues.

Copyright Adfero 2006

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Re: What would you like to see be invented? - [quote="christew":phpunkos]A printer where the official ink cartridges are as cheap as the unofficial ones, and allows you to still use other colors when one is out, and allows you to easily refill the cartridges.[/quote:phpunkos] Hi Christew I am with you on this one. Sometimes it is cheaper to replace the printer than it is to buy a new cartridge. I have never had a problem with an unofficial cartridge but would not use a refill. This I think is where most of the problems come from. MichelleJ
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