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Ink Jet Express
Walt Crockrel
by Barbara L. Roose
"The
‘green’ aspect of this business generates
a great deal of interest because we can help reduce
some of the pressure on our landfills. But we can
also help people reduce their printing costs. It’s
a win-win for everyone.”
 There
are more than 300 million ink cartridges in landfills
and billions spent each year on expensive retail ink
jet cartridges. Local business owner Walter “Walt”
Crockrel, Jr. believes that his business, Ink Jet
Express offers an environmentally friendly, money-saving
solution to anyone with a printer. “The ‘green’
aspect of this business generates a great deal of
interest because we can help reduce some of the pressure
on our landfills. But we can also help people reduce
their printing costs. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Walt, a Detroit native, got his first paying job when
was just 5 years old working for a produce vendor
who lived next door. At first, Walt was just there
to keep the vendor’s daughter company, but Walt
worked that job until he was 12 years old.
Next, Walt took a paper route, but dropped it after
only a month. He wasn’t bothered by the early
mornings, but his non-paying customers cut into his
profit margin. So Walt decided to build and sell bicycles
to the other children in his neighborhood. “There
was a gentleman who would go around and collect spare
bicycle parts. I would buy those parts from him and
build the bikes to sell them.”
After high school graduation, Walt moved to Chicago
and enrolled in college. During that first Christmas
break, Walt got a job working for Sears. It was a
job that lasted for 37 years.
At 55, Walt retired and began playing golf and traveling.
However, there was something nagging at Walt whenever
he would print off his trip itineraries. “I
was printing a lot of material about places I wanted
to travel to, but I realized I didn’t like what
I was paying for the ink. So I started researching
to figure out if there was a better way.”
Walt discovered there were a number of cartridge refill
products available; however, the results were mixed
and often disappointing, so he began looking for an
ink refill product that could combine quality and
price.“I found a computerized machine that allowed
us to refill the cartridge for the precise ink and
the precise amount of ink that each cartridge needed.”
In May 2007, Walt opened Ink Jet Express in the high-traffic
Franklin Park area. “Essentially, our customer
is anyone with a printer,” explains Walt. “Our
customers are businesses, such as doctors, lawyers,
insurance agents, local city agencies and public school
districts.”
Ink Jet Express is able to offer instant refill service
because customers can bring in their empty cartridges
and purchase a refilled cartridge without waiting
in line. Although Ink Jet Express doesn’t offer
refills on Brother, Epson or Canon cartridges, the
company does have compatible or remanufactured cartridges
available for purchase at a substantial savings. Savings
aren’t the only thing that customers receive.
“We offer our customers a six-month warranty
on page yield and print quality. If there is any problem,
they can bring it back to us and we’ll take
care of it. But we don’t anticipate any problems.”
At 63, Walt is happy with his decision to open a new
business after retiring from a successful career.
He’s never let difficulty sway him from taking
on life’s challenges. “I’ve always
believed that when you are presented with a challenge,
you’ve got to accept the challenge and put your
best foot forward. We’ve got to learn from our
failures so that we can learn to overcome them and
move forward, not backward.” INK
JET EXPRESS
4895 Monroe Street
Phone: 419-475-4651
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 Toledo
Business Review highlights the best
commodity that Toledo has to offer: the small business
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In each issue, TBR profiles the locally owned
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Our readership is growing... Advertising with Toledo
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regarding advertising in Toledo Business Review, contact
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