Over 30 years ago Milton and Sandra Nix were teaching choir in the Bossier Parish school system in northwest Louisiana. Both had found great success developing champion choirs in their native state, but obstructive scheduling from the system were hampering the programs.

Milton was frustrated about his position after 27 years but unsure what his next move would be. "There are not many other jobs you're trained to do with Master's Plus 30 degree in music education," he said. "I was already a part-time music director for churches in my area." However, one day while at a doctor's office, Milton browsed a magazine. There, a tiny ad about refilling toner cartridges changed his life's direction.

"The ad was very small, but it leapt off the page like it was huge," he said, Milton responded to the ad and wasted no time jumping into a new career. "I went to the school board and retired," he said, "I burned my bridges and became a 'recharger'." After recovering from the initial shock of Milton's new calling, Sandra fully supported her husband and became part of the business.

With a refreshed spirit, the couple set up shop in a 12 × 16 building behind their house. The Nixes worked hard to make the new business succeed, with cartridges spilling onto the table and throughout the house as evidence of their determination.

Sandra continued to teach part time while helping Milton with pickups and deliveries as well as tending to the administrative needs of the business. Eventually she started working on cartridges as well. "When Sandra started doing cartridges the word 'togetherness' took on a whole new meaning," Milton joked of those early days. "We both sat at one huge desk and shared a vacuum. You'd better have a strong marriage for that!"

After two years of focused phone calls, bulk mailings, and many 14-hour days, Lazer's Edge's client list had expanded to the point where Sandra retired from teaching and devoted herself full time to the business. During that time, the Nixes realized they needed a bigger facility. "The business had taken over," said Milton, "Cartridges in the dining room; coronas in the kitchen; shipping and receiving in the den and breakfast area; and an office in one of the bedrooms.

Additionally we had the shop in back and the shed for storage. We had to move. It was a big step, but we knew the time had come to reclaim our home!" The businesses growth necessitated three moves over the next three and a half years - from a 650 store front, finally to the current location, a 3,600 square-foot building, custom-designed for Lazer's Edge's specific needs.

When the Nixes began the business, there were only three cartridges - the CX, PC 25 and the SX. However as the industry grew, they worked to keep pace. "It seemed suddenly as if Hewlett-Packard and Canon were turning out printers faster than we could learn the new cartridges. And at the time there were very few aftermarket supplies," said Milton. "I took as many classes as I could afford on repairing machines," Milton explained, eventually bringing son Lance along when Lance showed an aptitude for service work. As quickly as the Nixes could receive instruction for a new cartridge, Milton would learn how to do it. "We borrowed money to buy printers and equipment. We wanted to be successful and we knew that meant testing the cartridges," he said.

The Nixes also took advantage of resources like Recharger Magazine and other publications. They found it valuable to invest the networking opportunities afforded at industry shows and conferences. "There were not many people you could turn to in those days for technical instructions, said Milton. "This industry has always been a sharing group of people and still is." In addition to attending the very first ICRA show, the couple attended numerous ULTRA shows, as well as every World Expo save one, when the attacks on Sept. 11 prevented air travel. Milton also missed a recent World Expo for health reasons, but overall the Lazer's Edge team makes industry expo attendance a priority. The Nixes found the education offered at such venues, along with the peer network-ing, to be invaluable. "The cost of attending these conventions was outweighed by the benefits of what you will learn there," said Milton.

Lazer's Edge is primarily a family affair. Son Lance is chief technician and daughter Cheryl manages the office. Lance's wife, Rhonda, is a technician. Another son, Brian, worked with his parents for many years before launching his own videography business. The Nixes confidence in their team flourished when the family was put to the test after Milton had a stroke. Milton would recover but there was trepidation about managing the service work while he was recuperating. "There was a II-P I had promised a customer tomer," Milton said, "but I was paralyzed on one side. Lance had never repaired that machine, but he brought it to the hospital and I talked him through it. He's never slowed down since that day." Milton eventually returned to work, knowing his son could manage the technical needs of the business.

Likewise Cheryl's organizational ability keeps Lazer's Edge running smoothly and Milton jokes, "saved her mother from a nervous break-down." The team is rounded out with two employees, Ricky Greer and Kathy Free. Lazer's Edge takes advantage of its team's skill and strong work ethic by diversifying its offerings to include inkjets and color printers. Lazer's Edge outsources whatever workload the team can't accommodate in house. "We are fortunate to have knowledgeable and dependable employees," Sandra said.

Despite industry completion and a lingering recession, Lazer’s Edge maintains a strong client base and commitment to service. Milton states, “We pick up and deliver in the metropolitan area, we’ll service printers on site and our customers feel free to call us anytime for advice and information." The Nixes' dedication to quality has served them well for more than 20 years and has been recognized in the community. Lazer's Edge has been honored with the Northwest Louisiana Government Procurement Center award for "Excellence in Contraction" and also nominated for the Chamber of Commerce award for "Small Business of Year" several times.

"If you work hard and treat people the way that you want to be treated, good things will happen," said Milton. We will never be an industry giant but we're content to be a mom and pop operation. We are continually trying to fulfill our motto -‘We're always there when you need us.'"