I Ink, Therefore I Am Full Circle Image image supply re-manufacturing franchise

An eruption of ink, as furious as a Kuwaiti oil well, blastedonto the recycling marketplace in the early '90s. And MikeBouquet, co-founder and vice president of Full Circle Image, was inthe thick of it. Along with his partners, Bouquet, now 34, helpedlaunch the image supply re-manufacturing franchise in 1991. Littledid he know, they were tapping into a vast sea of toner gold.

The Rochester, Minnesota-based company originally marketedrecycled ribbons, but field representatives soon learned there wasa demand for imaging resources, complete with toner cartridges andfax and copier supplies. "We help [businesses] deal withsupplies in an environmentally friendly way," Bouquet says,"we help them save money."

The Full Circle concept took shape following a simple phonesurvey conducted by Bouquet and his partners, asking people if theywould be interested in recycling their printer ribbons rather thanjust tossing them in the trash. The partners were overwhelmed withpositive responses, and soon, the company was literally set inink.