We’ve had crafty business on the brain this week! On Sunday, Julie wrote about salvaged setups for outdoor shows, and yesterday, I posted about recovering after a long day of vending. So what about your promotional materials? It’s important to have some sort of take-away at your booth so folks who don’t have cash on hand can find you later. Here are a few eco-friendly resources for making or printing your business cards!

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Small companies are popping up all over that will refill your empty printer cartridge for a much lower price than if you were to buy a brand new cartridge, with the same print quality. However, the issue of refilling ink and toner cartridges is a hot button with printer manufacturers as these small refill operations are taking a share of new sales away from the big corporations. This has led to serious legal battles, but has also led to innovations in take-back programs and cartridge technologies.

To avoid the refill scenario for example, many printer manufacturers are fighting back by putting in smart technology to 'trick' the cartridge into thinking it is still empty even after it has been refilled. In response, small refill operations have developed a reset device that will override the manufacturers 'trick'. This constant back and forth is leading the big printing giants to rethink the way they approach the printer cartridge and adding incentive for the small businesses to fight for greater consumer benefits in this area.

Another way to save on ink is to think before you print. Utilize that print preview function on your computer (you know, that option you can choose to see how the document is laid out before you print it). Think about what you are printing. You may not need to print out that forwarded e-mail joke or you might be able to write down an address or phone number on a scrap piece of paper rather than printing. This will not only save printer ink but will also reduce the use of paper.

If you choose to go the refill route, make sure to ask what the guarantee or quality policy is. Otherwise when you're cartridge is empty don't toss it. Find out what the manufacturer's take back plan is on their website.

Amy says: I currently don't own a printer and I find I don't really miss it. I write down directions, confirmation codes and store documents in PDF form on my computer. For those rare occasions when I do need to print I'll go to one of those copy centers or ask a friend.