In ink

EVERETT – A year ago, Mike Scanes told seven employees he supervised at an educational software company that they were being laid off.

The task was made harder by the realization that his job would be the next eliminated.

After 15 years with the same company, he was left with a severance package and questions about what to do.

Now, Scanes has his own small business, Printer Ink Source, in a fast-growing industry, and no regrets about taking a turn away from the corporate world.

“Right now, I’m having a blast,” the 41-year-old said. “It’s fun taking on the challenge and building the business.”

Going into business for himself wasn’t his intention after he was laid off, however.

“I planned to go back to the corporate world,” he said.

Raised mostly in Everett, the Cascade High School graduate served four years in the U.S. Air Force and attended Everett Community College before joining a satellite communications company in the mid-1980s.

A few years later, he was laid off for the first time. He was hired back by that employer, but jumped at the chance to join Computer Curriculum Corp. in 1989.

Eventually, Computer Curriculum became Pearson Digital Learning, installing computer software and hardware for school districts. Scanes rose to become a services director overseeing 13 states from his home office.

But Pearson slumped and Scanes watched the company go through several rounds of layoffs. He often had to let go of other employees himself.

“I really enjoyed the work and loved the people, but there’s nothing worse then having to tell someone, ‘I have to let you go because your job’s been eliminated,’” he said.

After his own position was cut, Scanes’ former bosses invited him and a colleague to Pearson’s headquarters in Arizona for one last business trip. Despite trepidation, he went.

During that trip, a colleague mentioned that he had a friend who was refilling inkjet cartridges for a living.

“It didn’t register with me. I didn’t even see it as an opportunity,” he said.

But in the months that followed, Scanes decided that maybe he didn’t want to go back to the corporate world. Twice bitten by other companies, he realized that he didn’t like depending on others’ decisions for his future.

Then he was talking to a friend at a children’s birthday party who mentioned his neighbor was a franchise representative for a cartridge refill chain.

This time, Scanes listened.

What he learned was that revenues in the printer cartridge refilling industry are growing by double digits a year. At least three refilling franchises are trying to expand nationally as more customers find they can save up to 50 percent by purchasing refilled cartridges.

In addition to offering printer cartridges for a cheaper price than new ones, the industry can help reduce the number of empty printer cartridges that end up in landfills.

Liking what he heard, Scanes started doing serious research, said his wife, Mary Scanes.

“He just dove in. He was consumed, reading everything he could get,” she said.

While shifting gears midcareer has risks, Mary Scanes, who works for Kimberly-Clark Corp. in Everett, said she fully supported the new business.

“In his old job, he traveled Mondays through Fridays a lot. We have small children, so I would do anything to help him start a business that didn’t require much traveling,” she said.

Mike Scanes talked to representatives from Cartridge World Inc. and Island Ink-Jet Systems, the two largest franchises in the country. After looking at the pros and cons of joining a franchise, he decided the technical support they offered wasn’t worth the upfront fees and royalties he’d have to pay. Becoming a franchisee also meant relinquishing control.

“It made me think I’d be putting myself back into a quasi-corporate environment, where someone else had a lot of control over the success of my business,” he said.

Instead, Scanes found an expert on the East Coast who was willing to train him in how to refill ink-jet cartridges, and give him advice.

In late March and early April, he had 10 days of training. Using under $100,000 from a home equity loan and savings, he and his family set up Printer Ink Source in a leased storefront on Colby Avenue in downtown Everett. The business opened its doors May 3.

So far, so good. Scanes has hired one part-time employee to help him refill cartridges and operate his store six days a week.

Most of Printer Ink Source’s first customers were businesses, but he’s seeing more home computer users come in, too. Also, the number of repeat customers has grown to equal new ones, he said.

There are challenges. Primary among them is trying to find empty printer ink cartridges. The big printer manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, Lexmark and Epson, aren’t enthusiastic about the refilling business. So they try to keep empty cartridges from being reused, Scanes said, even urging customers to send the empties back.

As a result, he goes to eBay’s online auction site or other sources to buy old cartridges when he needs more.

So far, Printer Ink Source has minimal competition. The next closest cartridge refillers Scanes knows about are in north Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.

With luck, Scanes hopes to break even soon. He may even be taking in enough to draw a salary from the business by early next year.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.