Cartridge World: An economical way to stay in print

The days of buying new ink or toner cartridges are truly numbered in Terrebonne Parish as a new wave of technology that allows one local business to remanufacture print cartridge takes over.

Cartridge World, based out of San Diego, Calif., has brought the complexities of refilling and remanufacturing ink and laser/toner cartridges and put it in the business community’s backyard, helping them to save money and time.

There are two Cartridge Worlds in Louisiana, one in Lafayette and the second in Houma, according to local franchise owner William “Brunnie” Bisland.

Bisland, the former owner of a Houma massage therapy center, has operated Cartridge World the past two months. He said he wanted to take advantage of the open market because the massage therapy market was getting to0 common in Houma.

“We were aware of other businesses that were similar to [Cartridge World], but they didn’t offer the complete process that we do. We figured it was an untapped market,” he said.

He and his wife Mary Lynn are certified remanufacturers. They have trained at the national headquarters in California, as well as at the Cartridge World in Lafayette.

Bisland said the concept of the business is simple: they take empty ink and toner cartridges and refill them. He said but the remanufacturing process is more complicated.

At one-third of the cost of buying a brand new cartridge, customers can have ink cartridges refilled in about 15 to 20 minutes and a toner/laser cartridge remanufactured in a few hours.

“The shortest time is spent simply cleaning and refilling the existing ink cartridges. The longest time is needed to remanufacture the larger cartridges. They have more working parts, which makes it more complicated than the simple ink cartridges,” he said.

Bisland’s building is equipped with extensive computerized equipment, which range from $5,000 to $12,000. The most expensive piece is a machine that pulls ink from multiple sources to inject into ink cartridges, he explained.

The national headquarters in California has most of the products he needs to refill and remanufacture the ink or toner cartridges in the warehouse. Owners are asked to buy products from the headquarters or approved vendors, according to Bisland.

Catering to the business community as well as individuals, Bisland said there is no limit to how many cartridges a customer can bring in. He said it’s not about the quantity, but the quality. They can handle as many as you bring. But the bigger the order the longer the wait, he warned.

Customers are given a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee; the company’s success rate hovers around 97 percent the first time out, Bisland said. “We will do whatever it takes to make those troublesome cartridges right. Even if it means that we have to supply the customer with a brand new cartridge,” he said.

Bisland said giving the customer a brand new cartridge is the last resort. The business owner likes to make at least two attempts to correct the problem beforehand.

The company can manufacture most ink and laser cartridges except some made by Dell. Bisland for what ever reason Dell is a closed operation.

“Dell doesn’t make manuals and components that can be remanufactured outside of the Dell facility. We are not discouraging any one from bringing in Dell components for us to analyze. We just want to let them know that we might not be able to work on them,” he said.

“Hopefully in the near future some inventor will come up with a way to remanufacture Dell products making our business cater to a much larger audience,” he added.

Bisland is available for inventory analysis of any local businesses’ printers, scanners, faxes and copiers. He said he would put together a proposal that will ultimately save the business money.

Cartridge World

Owners: Brunnie and Mary Lynn Bisland

Address: 292 South Hollywood Road in Houma; South Hollywood Plaza

Phone: (985) 580-1010

Employees: One full-time, one part-time

Hours of Operation: Monday nThursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Service: Remanufacturing and refilling ink and laser print cartridges

Staff photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN • Tri-Parish Times * Cartridge World, a new ink and laser cartridge remanufacturing company, has been open in Houma since March. Franchise owner William “Brunnie” Bisland said he offers quality results for one-third less than the original manufacturer price.