In this day and age, who isn’t interested in saving money on printer ink? It is a sign of our times. Unfortunately, most people are forced to keep copies to a minimum and not even print in color ink at all. Added to this problem is the frustration of printer ink running out in the middle of a print job. I am happy to say that I have finally found a solution to the battle with printer ink!
In this blog post, I want to share with you how to save money on printer ink, as well as how I have eliminated the concern of expensive color copies and the inconvenience of running to the store for new cartridges.
The Problems
1. The cost. Sometimes the cost of quality printer ink cartridges can force you to take money out of the grocery budget to afford the ink!
2. The inconvenience. We’ve all been there. It’s time to print an important document (or a fun one!), and the ink runs out, so you have to drop everything and make a run to the store. So frustrating.
3. Color copies are out of the question. There are so many beautiful resources available to print, but since color ink costs more, we are often forced to set the printer to black & white.
How to Save Money on Printer Ink
Introducing HP Instant Ink!
THE BENEFITS OF HP INSTANT INK
1. It saves money. Hp Instant Ink has 3 plans to choose from, depending on how many pages you print each month.
2. It saves time. I no longer need to run to the store to pick up ink cartridges. They are automatically delivered to my door. More on this in a minute.
3. It is convenient. The HP cartridges are larger and last much longer than most ink cartridges. Between homeschooling and piano teaching, I print a whole lot of copies each month. In fact, I am on the 300 pages per month plan for $9.99.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I changed my ink cartridges. And two days ago, Fed Ex dropped off a package of ink cartridges at my front door without me having to order it, which tells me the ink is getting low. Keep reading to find out how.
4. Color copies are not more expensive than black & white. The price you pay is based on the number of pages you print, not on whether you print in color or black & white.
5. Unused copies roll over to the next month. Currently, I have an excess of unused copies that have rolled over waiting for me to use them.
6. If you refer a friend, both you and your friend receive one month free! You can’t beat that! If you like using HP Instant Ink, why not share it with your friends and family?
HOW IT WORKS
When you sign up for HP Instant Ink, your printer uses the internet to let HP know when you are running low on ink. HP delivers new cartridges to your door before you run out. Here are the steps to take:
1. You will need an eligible printer and an internet connection. Since I don’t like spending a ton of money on a printer, I purchased an affordable one from Amazon. There are several to choose from, and Amazon conveniently lets you know in the title if the printer is HP Instant Ink ready. After researching all the ways I could save money on printer ink, the HP Instant Ink option was a no-brainer for me. And yes, it was even worth investing in a new affordable printer to receive the benefits.
Here are 3 options if you do not already own an HP Instant Ink ready printer:
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- This one is the best-selling HP Envy 4520 Wireless All-in-One for $59.99 at the time of this writing.
- Here is the HP Envy 5540 Wireless All-in-One for $69.99 at the time of this writing.
This is the HP Envy 7640 Wireless All-in-One for $97.99 at the time of this writing. I actually have last year’s model of this one. I love it!
When you have an eligible printer, you are ready for Step 2.
2. Sign up for a plan. Make your choice based on the number of pages you print each month. If you aren’t sure, don’t worry. You can change or cancel your plan anytime. Ink, shipping, and cartridge recycling are included in your plan. There is no annual fee.
3. Your printer tells HP when to send more ink. It always arrives before you need it. You can print as many color pages as black & white, and the price won’t change. The plan you choose is simply based on how many pages you print per month.
4. HP Instant Ink cartridges are shipped to your door. Your service and billing start after you insert the cartridges that are shipped to you in the HP Welcome Kit. However, the HP printer I ordered from Amazon came with a set of ink cartridges, so my billing did not start until I ran out of the ink that came with the printer, which was 3 months later!
5. HP provides postage-paid shipping materials so that you can return used cartridges. You simply insert used cartridges in the envelope, seal, and mail.
WHEN YOU SHOULD NOT ENROLL IN HP INSTANT INK
- If you only print less than 5 pages a month on your printer, chances are you rarely need to buy or change out ink cartridges. In that case, I would say don’t enroll. However, if you have intentionally avoided printing because of the cost, and you really have more printing you would like to do, including those pretty color copies, then I would say go for it.
- If you just bought a printer and it is not eligible for HP Instant Ink. Although if the ink cartridges are expensive for your new printer, you may be better off selling it on Craigslist and starting over with an HP Instant Ink ready printer.
A PEEK INTO MY HP INSTANT INK ACCOUNT
I signed up for HP Instant Ink in April one year ago. However, the printer I bought came with cartridges that did not run out until August, so that is when my service actually started, as soon as I inserted the ink cartridges from the HP Welcome Kit. Because I print tons of copies through homeschooling, piano teaching, and piano composing, I am on the 300 copies plan.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Question #1. How do I keep up with my page count each month? All you have to do is log in to your HP account online, and you can see exactly how many pages you have printed for that month. When I print over my allotted number of pages, it is still very affordable. My $9.99/month plan adds an additional 25 pages for $1 (color or black & white). At my local Office Depot, black and white copies cost $0.11 each and color copies are $0.59 each. So it is still worth it!
Question #2. I can order my ink cartridges cheaply on eBay. Is HP better than that? I used to order my cartridges on eBay as well. However, I ran out of ink very frequently. I even began to wonder if they were really filling the cartridges completely. And I still had to deal with the frustration of running out of ink if I had forgotten to order more. Also, my printer manufacturer would not help me with technical support unless I used their cartridges.
Related: Free Printable Budget Notebook: The Secret Strategy to Organize Your Money
CONCLUSION
Based on my experience with HP Instant Ink, I highly recommend it! It is totally worth it for the cost, time, convenience, and freedom to print in color whenever I need to. I no longer even think about ink cartridges.
I have thoroughly enjoyed having one less thing to worry about in life, and I hope you will too!
YOUR TURN: Do you struggle with ink cartridge battles? What ways have you found to save money on ink cartridges? Share with us below in the comments!
God’s blessings to you,
