A new store in University Mall offers students and Blacksburg residents the chance to save money and help save the environment at the same time. The Inkspot, which opened Aug. 1, allows customers to save 50 percent off the original cost of printer ink.
To save on ink, a customer can bring in his or her empty ink cartridge to the store. The Inkspot refills it on the spot, which takes about 10 to 20 minutes for ink cartridges, depending on what colors need to be refilled, and about 20 to 30 minutes for toner cartridges.
If the store already has a cartridge in stock, the customer receives it immediately.
“We test every cartridge before and after it’s filled to make sure it’s going to work properly,” said Inkspot co-owner Chantry Hurt. “We take them apart, clean them, replace new parts, put it back together and test it after it’s filled. It’s as good or better than the original.”
With ink and toner cartridges creating 875 million pounds of waste each year, the store’s mission is to lessen the amount of waste created in a sensible manner. The main component of an ink cartridge is the plastic case, which can be refilled rather than thrown away.
“You’re not creating waste, you’re reusing it,” Hurt said. “If properly maintained, a cartridge lasts a long time.”
In addition to making it easy to help the environment, Hurt, along with husband Justin, decided to open the store as a convenient way for students to save money.
Justin Hurt, who graduated from Virginia Tech in 2004 as a resource management major with an emphasis in consumer studies, remembers what it was like to live on a student’s budget.
“The main (reason we opened the store) is when we were in college, it was always such a hassle to afford ink. This is just an easy way to get it,” Chantry Hurt said. “It’s important for people to know they can save.”
The Hurts also own the Signspot, located on South Main Street. The couple splits up during the day to work at each store, but they hope to eventually have the Inkspot managed so they can work together.
Business has been successful, despite the recent closings in the University Mall.
The Hurts picked the location because of its convenience for students, being next to the Math Emporium and bookstore.
“We’ve been very excited and pleasantly surprised in the response from students,” Chantry Hurt said. “We’re meeting our goals, but we’re still in the process of getting our name out there.”
In addition to students, a good number of customers have been residents of the Blacksburg community.
Lynn Davis, college communicator for the Cheatham College of Natural Resources, heard about the store through an email from a co-worker.
“I think (the Inkspot) is great. We all feel like we’re wasting, and we want to recycle,” said Davis. “It takes 40 years for something to start decaying in a landfill, so we better find ways of being better stewards.”
Other customers agreed.
“It’s what we need. Recycling is the way we have to go these days or else we’ll end up living on top of a trash heap,” said Mario Schirripa, a Blacksburg resident. “If only you could recycle ink cartridges into gasoline.”
Hurt answered, “I’m working on it!”
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