I had a facebook friend asking about printers and ink options the other day. I thought I'd share about our because between life, fostering, homeschooling, and church planting, our family prints a LOT of stuff.
>this is not a paid post but does contain my referral link that could help supplement our ink obsession if you happen to sign up using it<
Life and becoming a foster home has all of us in need of printing things no and then. Party decorations, random signs, receipts, seasonal coloring pages, homework assignments, paperwork that needs signatures, things you have to keep posted in your home, etc. I'm sure I'm missing something.
We have had 2 printers in the 7 years of homeschooling. I run them ragged. We don't do the box-curriculum for lots of little reasons but one of those is space in our budget. There's more to it but basically, we do a store bought grade-level workbook and supplement with educational games, activities, field trips, movies/shows, and free/cheap things found on the internet. Although free to download, things found on the internet often require printing them off, sometimes 3-5 copies at a time. There's also the copying of curriculum we've been passed down. That's a lot of paper and ink.
We planted a church nearly 5 years ago. Being a new/small church, we do a lot of DIY or from-my-home stuff including printing children's curriculum, door hangers, post cards, sermon notes, signage, handouts, and all kinds of stuff. That too can be overwhelming and strenuous on me and my printer.
My current HP Envy 4512 [wireless!!!] does printing, scanning, copying, web, and photo stuff. We have had it for at least 4-5 years. It occasionally jams but is a super easy fix. Sometimes my wifi doesn't like to play well but that's just because our small town offers very little in the way high speed access. Another cool feature about this printer is that it works with "instant ink" via HP.
Instant Ink works with SEVERAL different HP printers that allow them to track how much ink is used and then automatically sends you more before you run out. After that, you return the empty cartridge in the package they provide. You can do monthly rates of $3-10 plans based on how much you print. It also allows for roll over pages, the plan can be change super easily, doesn't matter if you're printing colored or black and white. WHAT!? I [heart] color!!! Instant Ink way cheaper than buying ink in the store but it is also way less stressful than running out of ink unexpectedly, having to remember to buy it when you do make it into a store, or making sure to pick out the right cartridge [face palm].
Now, that I've referred you to get ink cheap, can someone refer me to a a program for PAPER usage. You know, one that kept inventory, anticipats needs based on upcoming calendar events, and automatically sent you the appropriate stalk. Or maybe I should plant some more trees. Or MayBe I should start a recycling plant in my backyard with all this paper build up.
What do you use your printer for most often? Got any tricks for making it cheaper? How do you deal with paper-build-up!? For real though, I hate paper- ask my recycling guys. They know I'll kick it out the door by the ton.
