Recycler Trade Magazine (October 2004)

Hip Ink Pte Ltd Perspective (cont'd)

The HipFill port addresses this by its incorporation of an ink level indicator that tells the user when to stop filling and contains any excess ink that overflows from the cartridge - thus preventing the problem of ink going everywhere.


Ong Wooi Siang with HipFill and Hipprime
The Hipprime technology is a patented priming system that they say will ensure the print head is well primed with ink after every refill, effectively removing any airlock. They believe that with this product they have achieved their aim of allowing the end user to prime a cartridge so that they can refill themselves yet achieve the same quality as they would by buying a remanufactured brand.

Hipclear is a solution that can be sprayed on the cartridge to unclog the ink and stop it drying out. This is made using vegetable extracts and as such constitutes a natural organic solution that doesn't damage the print head. They believe this to be unique in the industry where alcohol tends to be used in standard cleaners. The two of them demonstrate how effective this product is by putting ink on the table in front of us and showing how effectively it cleans the ink up. They say that the Hipclear technology is so effective that they have even been able to revive some non-virgin cartridges that might have otherwise been written off. They believe that their product could also prolong the life of cartridges as some remanufacturing processes involve cleaning cartridges using a centrifuge, a process that, while effective, does cause some wear on components.

The two of them give me a demonstration of how to refill a cartridge using their kit - a process that their publicity material claims can be done in four easy steps -

• Apply sticker - this guides the HipFill port(s)
• Insert HipFill port
• Attach ink can to HipFill port and fill
• Prime the cartridge

Their demonstration confirms for me that the refill process using the kit is indeed as simple, quick and clean as they claim.

They believe that what they are offering here is unique within the refill market and that their innovative technology gives a new slant on the standard refill kit. They recognise that people might wish to use just certain parts of the kit too and so they have come up with kits featuring different combinations of the various components in order to cater for this.

The company is also hoping to launch another product in World Expo in Las Vegas that will take the form of a portable machine about the size of an attaché case that can be operated in the field without the need to be plugged into a power supply. This would be targeted customer-facing refillers.

The two directors are very enthusiastic about how far the company has come in such a short space of time and they say that their biggest achievement since they set up the business has been in the way that they have continually redefined their product in response to things that they have learned along the way.

The company is now beginning an intensive marketing campaign - inviting distributors to come forward to distribute the products and is already looking at a couple of potential partnerships. They are keen to sell to distributors initially rather than to end users, although they do acknowledge the possibility of selling via the web in the future if they feel that demand for such a service exists.

www.HipFill.com