If you’re a teacher spending a ton of cash on ink for your classroom printer, stop and learn about the HP Instant Ink teacher program. The program is the answer to all your money-spending woes in printing in the classroom. The average teacher spends almost $500 a year out of their own pockets on classroom supplies in the United States. Not to mention, the cost of printer ink from your typical store is a small fortune.
One other major thing worth noting about teachers is that there is an expectation for their classrooms to be colorful and bright. Most schools don’t have color printers available to teachers, so those colorful documents and projects are impossible to print if you don’t have your own in the classroom. Further, unless you’re one of the lucky few with a classroom right across from the printer, walking down the hall mid-class is not an option.
Teachers contemplating purchasing a new printer but want to know the best ink options look no further. Here we outline two ink programs to help you decide which is best and save you the most time and money.
Do Teachers Need Their Own Printer?
It is still amazing how many people believe teachers do not spend any money out of their pockets. The teacher likely purchased anything that makes a classroom more efficient and comfortable. Teachers are always looking for the best way to save on items for the classroom to make students’ learning more efficient.
For example, teachers who teach a classroom full of high school students cannot afford to leave the classroom to get that one page or printed work for a student. Or, did you know that teachers and their yearly performance assessments include the appearance of classrooms? For example, teachers with nothing colorful on the walls and no student work could receive a lower performance score in one category.
There are also those awesome moments where you need that document for a parent or student, and the printer is out in the workroom. Any teacher knows that kind of frustration! Or how about the kid who tells you right then and there they have trouble with reading on the computer and paper works better for them? This is where that printer needs that student to learn to the best of their ability.
What Is the HP Instant Ink Program?
If you’re a teacher, and colorful prints are important to your classroom and how you teach, then you will love this program. The HP Instant Ink Program is a monthly subscription to choose a plan to fit your printing needs best. Do you want to know the best part? No more running to your local office supply store when you run out of ink in the middle of a project.
This monthly subscription sends your HP ink cartridges to your door every month! What’s cool about the HP Instant Ink Program is that, through your wifi-connected printer, HP keeps track of the number of pages you print and how much ink you use to ensure you have ink BEFORE getting low. Plus, the amount of money you will spend on ink cartridges in the store is significantly more than you will spend on the nominal monthly fee.
The HP Instant Ink printing plan can only be used with an eligible HP printer, such as the HP Envy. A simple HP home printer would be a great option for this. Each month you will receive both color and black and white cartridges. New cartridges being sent each month will save teachers time and energy on supplies they need.
Of course, there is always the need to print a quick extension activity, like a coloring page or a word search. Whatever the reason, teachers need an affordable option for printers and ink in their classrooms.
How Does the HP Instant Ink Free Plan Work?
1 . Getting Started
First, you must have an eligible HP printer to enroll in this program (i.e., HP Officejet or the HP Officejet Pro). If you are new to shopping for an HP printer, research beforehand so that whatever printer you purchase will meet all your printer needs. For example, if you want to print quality printers, you do not want to purchase something that would better suit a student’s printing reports.
Teachers, listen up! If you are wondering whether or not to spend money on a printer, buy the cheapest HP home printer you can find and use that for your class. A great inexpensive option is the HP Envy printer. Get started by going to the HP website and clicking on the big blue “sign up now” button, which will lead us to our next step to help you save money.
2 . Choose Your Plan
Once you click that “sign up now” button, you will be introduced to the various HP Instant Ink plans. Every plan allows for many monthly rollover pages, so no money is wasted. We need to print more; each additional set of 10 pages is only a dollar. That’s only ten cents a page! There are five plans to choose from, based on the number of pages you print each month.
- Light Printing Plan– This plan allows you to print up to 15 pages per month. The monthly fee for this plan is just $.99 a month! Boom! This may be the best option if you have access to a color printer at school, but I would like the ease of access that having your own HP printer brings.
- Occasional Printing Plan– Print up to 50 pages each month while rolling over 150. The monthly fee for this plan is only $2.99 each month. This is a great option for teachers wanting to print up a few extra full-color pages for the walls, plus things for students.
- Moderate Printing Plan– Print up to 100 pages each month while rolling over up to 300 pages.
- Frequent Printing Plan – Print up to 300 pages each month to roll over up to 900 unused pages.
- Business Printing Plan – Print up to 7oo pages each month while rolling over up to 2100 unused pages.
There is a plan for the needs of every teacher. Look at the number of pages you feel you would want to print each month. When you pay full price for the ink, you tend to be more conservative with your printing. However, frequent printing won’t break the bank when you get such a great deal!
3 . Create an HP Instant Ink Account
You must create an account to start the HP instant ink printing plan. This will ask for basic information such as your name, email, address, and phone number. As with most programs and accounts, you will need to set up a user name and password for your account.
4 . Set Up Your Printer
In this last step, you will need a good internet connection to connect your printer. Again, only eligible HP printers will work for the instant ink program. You will be presented with choosing which printer you have. For example, if you have the HP Envy 4500 Series, choose that on the drop-down list.
Many new printers will come with a code to help you sign up for your printing plan.
Is the HP Instant Ink Program Worth It?
The HP Instant Ink teacher program is completely worth it! It is almost frustrating when I think about all the money I spent on ink for my classroom printer before entering this program. The HP Instant Ink printing plan allows you to have constant access to black and white and color ink all the time. There is no “oh crud” feeling when you run out of ink in the middle of a job.
In our society today, teachers do not have the time to be running around after school for supplies while at school. Supplies like ink cartridges are typically the last thing on any person’s list. The best option for teachers to save time and money is to sign up for the HP Instant Ink teacher program.
Does Canon Have an Instant Ink Program?
Don’t have an HP printer? Well, you’re also in luck because Canon has an instant ink program. However, it is not the same price point as the HP Instant Ink program. Any teacher will likely go in a different direction for the mission of saving money and meeting classroom needs.
Step 1
Like with the HP ink program, you must have an eligible Canon printer to make this work. An internet connection is not necessary for this program. Pick out your printer in this step. Next, you will select which cartages you want to receive each month. These are not at a discounted rate.
Step 2
Here you will decide which day of the month you want to receive your cartridges. You are not required to sign up for a contract, and there are no annual fees associated with having a Canon ink subscription. Here you can adjust when you receive your shipments each month and fix any other personal information needed.
Step 3
Luckily, there isn’t anything to step 3 except to wait for your ink to arrive at your door. I don’t know about you, but sometimes there is nothing better than getting a package at the front door.
Similarities and Differences Between Canon and HP Instant Ink
When it comes to similarities between these two programs, there aren’t many. The main similarity is that each program offers teachers to get their ink each month. However, there are huge differences in the price of the cartridges and how you get them.
Canon’s instant ink program does not monitor your ink levels, so if you need more ink and you’re in the middle of a big project, you will find yourself driving to the store anyway. The HP instant ink subscription has a great one up in this department. You know your ink cartridges are on the way as soon as you start getting low.
Another huge difference is that the HP Instant Ink subscription is considerably less expensive. The Canon program only saves you a trip to the store IF you don’t use all of your product before the next shipment. Being part of a program only having to potentially still go to the store doesn’t save teachers any time.
Final Thoughts
When it comes down to it, the HP Instant Ink subscription has a great deal more for the money and is an inexpensive way to utilize their HP printers in the classroom. Teachers are busy making this plan the best because the HP instant ink subscription automatically sends ink when getting low. I have said this several times, but as a teacher with a family, making a trip to the store after school for supplies feels excruciating.
In conclusion, the HP Instant Ink subscription is the best option for teachers and their printing necessities. At the end of the day, teachers’ goal is to best serve their students in the best way possible. Now more than ever, this is critically important.
HP printers can be found at a reasonable price and offer programs that won’t break the teachers’ bank. Moreover, this ink subscription will allow teachers to service their students and learning styles without breaking the bank.