I live in a small market town with a population of around 6000 people. Unlike the larger towns nearby, we don’t have an identikit high street and are fortunate to have a number of independent shops – a butcher, a baker (no candlestick maker!), a saddlery, gift/card shops, florists, restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, antiques, a toy shop, sweet shop, picture framer, etc. We also have a weekly market and a monthly farmer’s market, several banks, a post office, a small supermarket (but sadly a few too many estate agents and charity shops) and, somewhat inevitably, the all-too-powerful retail giant that is Tesco is in town (not content with a One Stop store at one end of the high street they recently opened a Tesco Express store right next to the market square… and now they have their sights on ripping the heart out of the neighbouring town).

So, what’s the point of this ramble? The point is that we have a thriving local community, good schools and local facilities so, wherever practical, I like to shop locally and support the independent traders in the town (i.e. not Tesco!). As a member of the camera club, I’d been alerted to the existence of one business in the town that I hadn’t used until today – The Ink and Toner Shop.

As the name suggests, The Ink and Toner Shop offers a variety of printer-related consumables at competitive prices with friendly service and free delivery (even for those who don’t happen to live around the corner, as I do!). So, next time you’re looking for “printer food”, rather than buying from the local supermarket/Staples/PC World/Costco, please check out The Ink and Toner Shop website and support my local community!