color printer recommendation for LOTS of color printing

[drjuliadc]

I like to print out Teachers Pay Teachers word walls, posters, etc... and make books out of them.  I like them because they are very colorful, visual in an attractive way, and large.   I find the visuals are very helpful in explaining the text, as in, the visual might explain it enough all by itself.  The visuals are large and the text is large because they are not necessarily meant for books.  The large text makes the amount of print on the page less intimidating. In the frequency, intensity, duration equation of neuroplasticity, (I feel teaching/learning is accessing neuroplasticity) the larger text/visuals make the intensity part of the equation, more intense.

The color printing at home tends to be a problem.  Does anyone else print out a lot in color and have found some more practical ways to do this?  I'm not THAT price sensitive, but buying actual HP cartridges does seem a bit excessive.  If I have to, I'll do it though.  I've been buying knock off printer cartridges and it works fine for our color printer at the office (same exact printer) but seems to get me in trouble at home.  I don't go in to the office enough to make it practical to just use that one, although I do it sometimes.

Edited November 16, 2020 by drjuliadc

[sweet2ndchance]

I print almost exclusively in color and we use a printer that is HP Instant Ink compatible. I tend to print in spells so we almost always have rollover pages saved up for when I go on a printing spree. I could even go up a plan or two if I needed to. We have the 300 page per month plan. When I've been on a printing spree before, they have had to send two sets of cartridges in the same month and it wasn't a problem, didn't cost anything extra. Dh prints things on and off through the month too and we almost always have at least a few pages to rollover. And the cartridges last longer than the ones you buy in the store.

For us, it works to pay about $12 a month rather than $60 per pair of HP cartridges each time we need them or try and find off brand cartridges that work. I've used off brands and refillables in the past and sooner or later they have issues in the printer or the print quality just isn't as good or they leak or they are just a pain to refill properly. A year of Instant Ink costs about $150, give or take, so cost-wise if we use more than two to three sets of cartridges a year (and we tend to go through more than twice that) it is less expensive than buying HP cartridges locally.

Another good option I've looked into in the past is ink tank printers. It's more upfront than an Instant Ink compatible printer which is why we didn't go with it but it is an option you could look into if cost isn't a concern.

 

(I just checked my Instant Ink account and I have 600 rollover pages, which is the max allowed on my 300 page a month plan. So I could print 900 pages right now if I wanted to since the new billing cycle just started. If I somehow needed more than that, I think it costs $1 for 10 pages or something like that. I've only gone over my page allotment once in just over 2 years of using Instant Ink)

[Guest]

I print in color a lot for music lessons, and I buy OEM cartridges. Having said that, I have an old enough printer that I am not concerned with voiding my warranty. When it dies, I plan to get an ink tank one.

[drjuliadc]

Yes, I need one for preschool prodigies too.  So many pretty, colorful things to print from them! And LARGE.

How is teaching with it going? I love it, but I know less than nothing about music.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, drjuliadc said:

Yes, I need one for preschool prodigies too.  So many pretty, colorful things to print from them! And LARGE.

How is teaching with it going? I love it, but I know less than nothing about music.

I really like it, especially for my little ones, and kids with LD who benefit from the color coding. But it does lead to a lot of color printing, and at least right now, the academy site does not consistently include the PDF's, so I'm still printing a lot of those for my students to use. 

 

I also have a piano book club and piano game club membership, and most of those are full color, too, especially the ones for younger kids. 

[Magnum Necis Academy]

We’ve had an Epson EcoTank for 2 years and I’ve finally just had to add more black ink recently. I’ve printed a couple thousand color pages and maybe 1000 b&w pages. And the ink is so cheap compared to cartridges, maybe $15 per bottle. It’s also the only printer that has worked consistently for me. I swear my past printers have made my want to go Office Space on them.