Business offers more than ink

One new business in Newton is hoping to craft a win-win situation: providing a needed service while creating employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

IIINK has opened its doors, offering ink cartridge refills and remanufactured toner. The store is carved out of storefront of TSS, a local provider of developmental disability services, in the organization’s day services center at 1024 S. Washington Road in Newton.

Victor Peterson, store manager, said TSS’s day service program was at an awkward stage — too big and yet too small. So in order to grow the program, TSS staff began brainstorming about possible avenues to employ clients in-house.

Peterson said the group looked at many options, and the ink cartridge business idea was one service Newton didn’t have. But the decision also had a spiritual component. A man of faith, Peterson said he prayed about possible direction for the program, and he said the opening of IIINK was what he felt God leading the company to do.

And in the process of organizing the business, he said he has seen evidence of divine intervention all along the way — whether it was in the ease of designing the logo or coming up with a name for the company. IIINK stands for “Integrate, Improve and Inspire Newton, Kansas.”

The idea of providing a cheaper way for people to buy printer and copier ink fits in well with the current economic times, Peterson said. The price can be up to 60 percent cheaper than new cartridges. He said toner is 100-percent guaranteed. And while some people may have had bad experiences in the past with at-home refill kits or refillers who use universal ink, Peterson said the ink the business uses is identical to that used in new cartridges.

Cartridges are equipped with new sponges and a new chip, and he said refilled cartridges are filled full, unlike new cartridges that may only be about 60 percent full.

The initiative also has a “green” recycling component, as old cartridges are being reused instead of trashed. Peterson said IIINK has drop boxes to be placed at local stores and locations for people to drop off their old cartridges. He said even if people can’t contribute to IIINK by buying from them, they still can have a positive impact by donating the old cartridges, which are refilled and resold. Currently, drop boxes are located at the North Newton Post Office, the Bethel College bookstore and Bethel College Mennonite Church. He’s hoping to have more drop boxes out soon.

Another benefit to the business is keeping money local, Peterson said.

But beyond those benefits, Peterson said he expects to see huge benefits for the clients employed by the company. In his experience, he said clients who are able to find meaningful employment experience a huge increase in self esteem and begin applying themselves more in other areas of their life.

He said in a down economic climate, those with disadvantages can end up suffering the most in terms of difficulty finding employment. And he said it can be a risk for employers to hire someone who may need physical or mental assistance.

But by employing clients in-house, staff can provide the necessary training to prepare them for the job, as well as customize the job to fit their needs.

Clients are paid for their work at IIINK.

And by creating a business that allows customers to work with and interact with the public, Peterson said the hope is clients and customers will build relationships, allowing the employees to further integrate into the community.

It also will raise awareness of TSS and the services it provides. Peterson compared the venture to Goodwill. While people may consider Goodwill to simply be the store they go into to buy things, Goodwill also uses the store to provide jobs for people with disabilities. The hope is “IIINK becomes the face of TSS to the community,” he said.

The store had a ribbon cutting on April 22 and a grand opening on Monday.

Peterson said the expectation is to employ three people in the first year. The hope is to expand and employ more clients, but that is “completely dependent on business,” he said.

While there are no plans for expansion, there are ideas, Peterson said, if the business is successful, staff might consider partnering with other agencies, as well as hiring people who may not qualify for TSS services but who have disabilities.

For more information on IIINK, visit the Web site at iiink.org or contact Peterson at 284-1018 or victor@iiink.org.

At a glance: IIINK

WHAT:

Provider of refilled ink cartridges and remanufactured toner

WHERE:

1024 Washington Road in Newton

WHEN:

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, although staff is on site from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WHO:

Contact store manager Victor Peterson for more information at 284-1018 or victor@iiink.org.