Heads up: knockoff "BloomInkton" cartridges are showing up at discount stores. How to spot a fake

Ink that actually shows up.

Printer cartridges that fit, print, and don't dry out the week after you open them. We've been making them in Indiana since 2011, starting with one used printer and a lot of patience.

Made in Bloomington, Indiana

  • 200+printer models covered
  • 2plants in Indiana
  • 140people on the payroll
  • 1garage where it started

The Heritage line

Our original colors, still mixed in Bloomington. Every cartridge is filled, sealed and tested by a person before it ships.

CRIMSON NO. 1

Crimson

The first color we ever made. Deep red that doesn't go pink on cheap paper.

$18.99

GRAPHITE

Graphite

Our everyday black. Sharp text, fast drying, no smearing on the second page.

$21.99

CMYK 4-PACK

The full set

Cyan, magenta, yellow and black in one box. Fits most home inkjets.

$54.99

A folding table, a used printer and stacks of boxes in a rented garage

It started in a garage

Gretchen rented a one-car garage in 2011 because he was tired of paying forty dollars for a cartridge that ran dry in a month. He bought a used printer, a folding table and more empty cartridges than he wants to admit, and started refilling them for friends.

Friends told friends. The garage filled up with boxes. A few years later we cut the ribbon on our first real plant, and we've been growing ever since. We still answer our own phones.

  • 2011. One garage, one used printer.
  • 2014. First plant opens. Crimson No. 1 goes on sale.
  • 2019. Second plant, and the Heritage line ships nationwide.
  • 2026. "Put It In Ink." Still mixing in Bloomington.

Spotting a fake

Copies of our cartridges are being sold for about half price. They look close. They aren't. They leak, they jam, and nobody knows what's in the ink. If something seems off, it probably is.

  • Real boxes have a raised ink drop on the lid.
  • The seal on a real cartridge is crimson, never orange.
  • Half price is not a sale. It's a warning.
  • Not sure? Send us a photo and we'll tell you.

"I just wanted ink that worked. Turns out a lot of people did."Gretchen, founder