Does anyone own a copy machine for their homeschool?

[mommydearest]

Please tell me if you think it is worth it. I keep hearing that the toner/ink/etc. makes it expensive to maintain. How much do you spend to have one in your home?

[Ann@thebeach]

I have a copier/printer combo that has worked great for my copying needs. I don't copy a ton of stuff though, and rarely in color. It works great for the occasional worksheet or a template from a book. It's fairly slow but since I'm not doing a lot that's not a big deal. I think it was around $200 at Costco but it's about 5 yrs old.

 

I do have a b/w laser printer that I use to print most of my stuff because it's so much cheaper.

[Alphabetika]

We have a laser printer that is also a copier, and I LOVE it!

[Julie of KY]

I have a printer/copier that I got for about $120. I use it all the time and have told my husband it is a "necessity" for our school. I would cut out other expenses before this, because it has opened up other things for us.

[VBoulden]

I had a copier-scanner-printer. It went bust a few weeks ago, but I am not sorry to see it go. I intended to use it a lot. I thought it would be nice to make copies of some of my daughter's work texts and books, etc. so she wouldn't write on the pages and I wouldn't have to buy them again for my younger kids, but it took forever to copy stuff, so it was impractical and I gave up... I think we will replace it with another copier-scanner-printer, eventually, but until then, I am not really missing it. :001_smile:

[nmoira]

We have a laser printer that is also a copier, and I LOVE it!

 

:iagree:

 

It's worth every penny. The only drawback is that the copier is sheet fed rather than flat bed. Our next printer *will* have a flat bed scanner/copier.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Ours cost about $190 a year and is now bust, and yes, we have to replace it. I use it constantly.

[Just Robyn]

I have a printer/copier. It was about $80. It comes in very handy. You can only make copies the one-sheet-at-a-time way. You can't feed in a stack of papers for it to copy, so if I have a big stack of loose sheets to do I still go to Kinkos. It's great for just a few pages though and I use it often.

[TN Mama]

I also have a printer/scanner/copier and I LOVE it! So nice to have right here and I use it often. For really big jobs, I also still go to Kinko's, but for most jobs what I have is sufficient.

[Mommee & Baba]

I have an all-in-one printer and we LOVE it!! It's just been added to our homeschool/office this year and so far it's showed to have HUGE pay offs. It's saved us ALOT of money as far as curriculums too because instead of using the worksheets that are in the workbooks I would just copy them.

 

The printer I have is the HP Photosmart C4640 that dh purchased at Walmart for me for about $100. However it EATS black ink. That's my one complaint. I wish it'd use less black ink.

Edited June 29, 2010 by mamaofblessings

[Melissa B]

We have a printer/scanner/copier that came free (bundled with our computer.) I never would have thought to purchase one otherwise. I scan/print things on a near daily basis and put it very near the top of my homeschool requirements list. We've had it several years now and I couldn't imagine trying to get by without it. :) I replace the black ink approximately every other month ($15.00 each) and the color ink maybe twice a year ($35.00 each.)

[Dmmetler]

I have a 7 yr old HP All-in one, and love it. Having said that, I choose not to photocopy workbooks, even those designed for teachers in schools, because the amount I'd get from reselling the book at the end of the year would be counterbalanced by the cost of ink and the time involved.

 

I've found Costco.com to be the best source for the ink cartridges. Their remanufactured ones cost about the same as getting one refilled locally, but seem to be MUCH more reliable.

[Carrie12345]

I do a good amount of copying, especially when I find a real "keeper" curriculum that I intend to use for 4-5 kids. It's especially efficient when we don't intend to use every single page (like SOTW AG or WWE workbooks). Plus, my copier has a "draft" mode that I like to use for basic worksheets that are likely to be thrown away or scribbled on the back when they're done. Much less ink used that way (and it goes faster!)

 

I'll admit that it took the first few months of homeschooling to realize that copying in color was insane, lol.

[2cents]

Copier/printer. Right up there with one of the things I couldn't do without. Now I want a binder machine. That's on my wish list. :)

[Guest aquiverfull]

I'm interested in the responses. :)

 

I had a flat bed scanner and could scan and send anything to my printer. It was awesome. It lasted for several years and finally died recently. I miss that thing so much. It was so convenient. I copied so many things with it, especially when we were studying WP AS 1 (the older version). Now I have yet to copy things I need for next year because I hate to go somewhere and have it copied. Another thing I loved was that I could print it out on cardstock right here at home. The cardstock made the paper crafts a lot more durable.

 

Oh yea, and a binding machine would be awesome!

[mama25angels]

I have a copier/printer/scanner that I use for everything even though I can only copy one page at a time

[DianeW88]

Could. not. live. without my copier/printer. It is my right arm. I use it every day for school.

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[Mommee & Baba]

Copier/printer. Right up there with one of the things I couldn't do without. Now I want a binder machine. That's on my wish list. :)

 

The Lakeside Collection has one right now in their catalog for around $20. This is a purchase I'm going to be making in the next month or so! :D

[thundersweet]

We have this one. http://www.amazon.com/Brother-MFC-8860DN-Flatbed-Printer-Duplex/dp/B000ET5W6E I was just telling dh it's one of the best purchases we have made for our home. We use it all the time. My dd prints gobs of stuff. (even though I tell her not to) The toner cartridge lasts forever. Even when it says low, there is still a ton of ink left. There is a little trick to getting even more use out of it but I can't remeber what it was. We pulled off a sticker or something (found this directions on some forum)and it seemed like it lasted for a couple more months before we replaced it. It's just a fantastic printer.

 

Sandy

[woolybear]

I have a printer/copier/scanner/fax all in one. I got it mainly because I wanted the copier/printer functions and it was fairly cheap. I didn't know much about ink prices. I have not figured out how much I spend per year on ink. If I get the multi pack it runs about $50. That can last about 3-4 months, though sometimes I need to replace individual colors sooner.

 

It is one of the best things I own. The downside is I probably spend more on ink since I bought a cheap model. The other minor problem is I have had to keep an eye on the dc to not let them copy at will. They think it is so cool!:)

[NanceXToo]

Like others said, I have a printer/scanner/copier combo. It's great! I don't use the photocopying all THAT often (as in I wouldn't pay separately for some big copy machine) but I do use it enough that I'm glad I have that sort of printer combo- I use it when I want to copy the maps and stuff out of the SOTW activity book, for example, instead of using the workbook itself (so I can reuse it with my son, too). I use it when I want to give copies instead of originals to my school district at the end of the year. That kind of thing.

[Angie in VA]

Copier/printer. Right up there with one of the things I couldn't do without. Now I want a binder machine. That's on my wish list. :)

 

 

The Lakeside Collection has one right now in their catalog for around $20. This is a purchase I'm going to be making in the next month or so! :D

 

 

Hey, 2cents and mamaofblessings, that binder is about $20? The rebate for this laminator is $20. Just sayin'. ;)

 

(Thanks to MeaganS for posting that deal!)

[JudoMom]

I have a b/w laser all-in-one and I use it all the time. It's one of the best investments we've made for our school.

[AngieW in Texas]

I use our printer/copier/scanner all the time. It has been well-worth the cost. They don't cost much any more. We plan to get our oldest a printer/copier/scanner to go with her laptop when she goes to college. I've seen them for less than $50 at Office Max.

[teamturner]

I would say that my copier/printer, scanner, fax all in one is my favorite homeschool item. I purchased it 2 school years ago and it has made my homeschooling so much easier. I have 3 dc that do many subjects/curriculums together so we make a ton of copies. It's a laser printer so it doesn't eat too much ink. Probably have to buy new cartridges every 9 months or so.

 

I love having a copier in my school room!!!!!! :D

[Corraleno]

An all-in-one copier/scanner/printer doesn't cost much more than a plain printer; they're often under $100. I couldn't live without it! Mine prints and copies really well onto card-stock, too, which I use for activities and models that would be too flimsy on paper.

 

Jackie

[MamaSheep]

I had one, sort of. When dh worked from home I had access to the color laser copy/print/scan/fax in the home office. A few months ago he moved to an office outside our home and took it with me. I miss it desperately. I liked being able to just run in and copy a photo from a book for dd to put on her notebook page, or whatever. I still have a little inkjet printer I can print off things from my CDs and whatnot, and there's a scanner around here somewhere that he's "supposed" to be setting up for me, but it's just not the same....(insert nostalgic sigh....)....

[Satori]

I couldn't go without our laser copier and printers. We have a few because both DH and I used to work from home and I had a shipping warehouse on our property. The laser copier/fax is only BW and is in my DH's office. We have two other color lasers, one in my office and one in the homeschool room. We use them everyday.

 

I just had to replace the toner, but it lasts so long and it gives you a nice long heads up when you need to order more.

[coffeefreak]

Please tell me if you think it is worth it. I keep hearing that the toner/ink/etc. makes it expensive to maintain. How much do you spend to have one in your home?

 

I bought mine when my oldest was in Kindergarten. It has been INVALUABLE!!!! You do have to use discretion. If you're using it to copy workbooks to save for other children, you're wasting your money on toner and ink.

 

HTH!

Dorinda

[robsiew]

We have a Brother MFC-7840W all in one laser. It has a flat bed copier on it. I LOVE it! I do send out big jobs, but for the here and there it's great. I love it for the curriculum that has a copyright on it that says you can copy for in family use such as Mind Benders... I can just print one off every so often for my ds to do. The toner lasts a long time and put on "draft" mode lasts even longer. I've been extremely pleased! It has been well worth the money... and it wasn't even that expensive... maybe $300? I can't remember exactly...

[hsbaby]

I have a copier/scanner that I use daily and LOVE. But, my husband had this brilliant idea last year that I could just scan what I need on it and then print it out on the laser printer to save on ink (the copier tends to use a lot). :glare: It is SO much easier to just copy it.......wish he would have stayed out of it:D

[MariannNOVA]

I have a printer/copier/scanner. Yes, I consider it a necessity. :001_smile:

[Snickerdoodle]

:bigear:

 

Our computer/printer set is about to go down and I need these good reviews.

[MissKNG]

Yes, my FIL gave us a fairly new printer/scanner/copier....I am so glad we have it!

[Slartibartfast]

We have really old copier that we got for free because dh's work was getting a new one.

 

We also have a printer and a scanner.

 

We don't print workbooks where it would be inappropriate ethically but we do print off quite a lot of things. There are a lot of things that one can get off the internet. I scan some of dd's work into the computer. :)

 

In addition to the ink saving things mentioned above you can use fonts that use less ink.

 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125639616

Edited June 29, 2010 by Sis

[Soror]

I have a cheap HP combo unit but am hoping to upgrade to a lrger Brother model as the rate at which this one goes through the ink it is not cost-effective to print very much.

[Mrs Mungo]

We actually own two all-in-one printers, one upstairs and one in the schoolroom. Mine are both pretty fast, especially for copying.

 

I don't copy workbook pages, because it's not cost effective. I *do* copy from a lot of books like these.

[ourjourneys]

I like using my copier to print off workbook pages. We often get to a part in a book that we can skip some pages or only one child needs a page now - the other later. I think it is definitely worth having a copier.

[mama2cntrykids]

We just got a scanner/copier/printer all-in-one on sale at WalMart for $54. It's a HP, so it's pretty good! Very easy to use too.

[Guest momk2000]

We have an all in one printer/copier/scanner. It was very inexpensive and does the job. Only problem is, the ink is so expensive. We are careful to use it only when necessary. The kids can go through the ink so fast if I let them - lol. It's definitely worth having for those last minute copies - saves so much time from having to go to the library eveery time copies are needed.

[EKS]

We have a black and white copy machine that uses toner. When I have to replace the toner cartridge it costs about $100 but that only happens every few years. I *love* having a copy machine! It is one of the best purchases I ever made for our homeschool!

[Bright_Future]

We have an all in one Brother laser copier/fax/printer/scanner which is older that I love. We just got a new Brother 840DN b/w laser which I love even more for the speed of the copy/scan/print features. They have them without the fax, but we needed that function also. When using for homeschool only we have to change the toner maybe once a year. For our small business which uses them alot, ie we go through a box of paper in about 2-3 months, we change the toner maybe 5 times a year and it may be less now that we went to the high yield toner.

 

Wouldn't be without one.

[Mrs. Frankweiler]

I'm trying to decide on a new printer/copier/scanner, so I'm loving this thread!

 

FYI, I was at Staples the other day drooling over the laser printers. The sales guy came over and asked if he could help. I told him what I was interested in, and he said for the amount of copying/printing we do, an inkjet would be much more cost effective than a laser printer. Some things he mentioned:

 

--the upfront cost of the ink jet printer is usually less (especially if you want color printing)

--the ink cartridges are MUCH cheaper

--newer models (> 2 years) use less ink, and the cartridges can print a lot more than before. (Some around 1200 copies/cartridge)

--The quality is almost as good as a laser printer.

 

Just some things to think about...I know before I buy a new printer I like to find out how much the ink costs, because that's where it gets you!

 

(Brag time...I found a comb binder at a thrift shop for $8!) LOVE IT! :tongue_smilie:

[Guest]

We gave our Canon printer to Adrian a couple of years ago and got an HP Photosmart 2573 All-in-One. It's my baby ;). I couldn't live without it. I have used it for anything and everything. I print photos, I printed labels for our boxes when we moved, I have made flash cards for Adrian, I print my schedule, I scan all sorts of things with it (I have a large scanner but this being an all-in-one is so much more convenient), I have used it to copy on numerous occasions... and the list goes on. Ink here is rather expensive so I am really careful what I use it for but it has definitely been a worthwhile purchase for us.

[zaichiki]

Everyone I know has a printer that is also a scanner/copier. They're the "new" microwave. We can't live without them. :D

[carolinagirl]

I'm a few days late in this but I have an MFC (multi function center) which just basically amounts to printer/copier/scanner/fax machine. I LOVE it. I use it constantly. It is probably the most used machine in the house. But then again, I have four kids, so I often have to make copies of instructions, forms, etc. I buy the kids their own workbooks but there's still always things to make multiple copies of. We also use it for ourselves, making copies of important papers during the year. I've scanned and emailed items to friends and family. The only aspect of it I don't use is the fax and that's because we haven't ran a phone line to my office yet (we moved here last year).

 

Well worth the money! I think we paid around $200 for our brother unit.