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Niche Business Booms
By ALDRICH TAN/Democrat Correspondent

November 4, 2005

Business is getting better for the Island Ink-Jet Systems kiosk that opened in April at the University Mall in Davis.

Located beside the Starbucks cafe and the Gottschalks department store, the kiosk has refilled 1,957 ink cartridges since its opening, owner Anthony Galvez said. It has more than 1,108 repeat customers from Davis, Woodland, Winters, Dixon and Sacramento.

Ayca Tekin, 33, of Davis is a repeat customer. She found out about Island Ink-Jet when she brought her daughter Ada, 2, to Gottschalks in May.

Whenever her Canon BCI-24 ink cartridge runs out of ink, Tekin said she goes to the kiosk for an easy and affordable refill.

"It is now so easy to solve my printing problems," she said. "I have been telling all my friends about this wonderful kiosk."

The Island Ink-Jet Systems franchise in Davis refills printer ink cartridges for various brands of printers such as Canon and Epson, within 10 to 15 minutes, Galvez said.

Refill costs depend on the specific ink cartridge brand and range from $3.15 to $19.19, he said, compared to as much as $45 for cartridges..

Galvez said his location at the University Mall is the key to his success "We have great visibility," he said. "Starbucks stores average 1,000 people every day and customers are always going to Gottschalks."

Educating the public about the kiosk's service has been this year's top priority, Galvez said. The company offers discount coupons. The kiosk also appears in commercials at the local movie theaters.

Galvez surveys returning customers how they found out about the company. A growing number of university student customers found out about the kiosk through either "friends" or "roommates." University faculty customers said they found out about Island Ink-Jet through students and the California Aggie, the UC Davis student newspaper, wrote an article about the kiosk.

"We get a lot of university staff and faculty dropping of their ink cartridges for both professional and personal use," he said.

The company is an approved vendor for the campus, he said. A kiosk banner announces that the company now accepts university purchase orders.

"We are trying to integrate ourselves with the campus and with the Davis community," Galvez said.

Galvez said he is expanding the franchise. Woodland is one of his choices for another Island Ink-Jet franchise next year. 47 of the kiosk's returning customers are from Woodland, he said.

"Woodland is big enough to support a store like this," Galvez said. "It doesn't have a lot of choices for printer ink supplies. The city also has many individuals looking for affordable printing supply options."

Galvez said he is also looking at sites in North Natomas and West Sacramento. He said he plans to expand the Davis kiosk into a retail store once a space opens up at the University Mall.

"It has been a slow start but we are growing gradually," Galvez said.
Section: Business