Ink-O-Dem partners with Chicagoland Ace stores

Some 30 Ace Hardware stores in the Chicago region are the latest retail outlets to offer ink cartridge refill services through a company called Ink-O-Dem.

Ink-O-Dem's ink cartridge refilling service is operating at about 4,500 Walgreens stores in the United States. In and around Chicago, the service is operating in retailers including two Micro Center stores in Chicago and Westmont, Fry's Electronics in Downers Grove, and hundreds of Walgreens, the company said.

"Now that more people are aware that Ace Hardware has this very affordable and eco-friendly service from Ink-O-Dem, it quickly became a demand we needed to meet with a sizeable expansion, said Frank Honold, of Ink-O-Dem.

Ink-O-Dem inkjet cartridge refills cost half of what a new cartridge costs, according to the company. Black cartridge refills are $9.99. Color refills are $14.99. The service also has an environmental message: refilling printer cartridges, instead of throwing them away, spares landfills about 60,000 tons of industrial grade plastic every year, according to Lyra Research.