12 Signs That a Printer Ink Subscription Is Right for You

Sponsored by HP Instant Ink

If you print hundreds of pages from your home printer every month, a printer ink subscription is a pretty obvious opportunity to save time and money. But the benefits aren't exclusive to people who print frequently. Even if you print less than 50 pages in a month, there are a slew of advantages to enrolling in one of these convenient services. With the holidays hot on our heels, signing up for a subscription could even be the most cost-effective way to print greeting cards. See if you fit the profile of someone who should consider a printer ink subscription.

From stocking up during sales to scouting the cheapest gas before you fill up, there are so many small ways to save that add up quickly. If you're someone who prints at home, a printer ink subscription is one of those small yet impactful ways to save money. It typically includes automatic refills on ink, toner cartridges, and sometimes even paper for a lower price than sourcing each product individually. Customers using HP Instant Ink have reported saving up to 50% on their home printing costs.

If you've been weighing the choice between printing in color or grayscale as heavily as which restaurant to visit for date night, a printer ink subscription might give you a brain break. Subscription plans are determined by the number of pages you print in a month, whether you're using color or black ink, so you can stop obsessing over ink levels and embrace color.

Have you ever found yourself with the sudden need to print an important document, only to realize you've closed out the "low ink" reminder one too many times without buying a replacement? You might find an ink subscription beneficial. You can select a plan based on how much you print per month — whether it's 10 pages or 700 — and the service will monitor your levels and have replacement cartridges sent to you before you get to the point of cursing your printer.

Working, running errands, picking kids up from school, carting them around to activities — there are so many responsibilities that come with being an adult. The only time that's left shouldn't be taken up by mundane tasks like heading to the store to buy printer ink, or even ordering it online, for that matter. Printer ink subscription services are designed to take the task off your plate and give you one less thing to worry about.

In this day and age, lots of people are exploring ways to work toward a more sustainable lifestyle. You might be able to take a step in that direction with a printer ink subscription service. HP Instant Ink not only sends all the supplies you need to print at home, it provides a postage-paid envelope to send used cartridges back for recycling.

Most printer ink subscription services allow you to roll over unused pages to the next month, so you're not spending money on pages you didn't use. Those pages remain in your account in case you print more than your monthly allowance in the future.

Nowadays, there's a subscription for everything. From meal kits to dog food delivery, you can put just about any of your expenses on autopilot. If you've found that subscribing to these services helps you feel more on top of everything, you'll find the same peace of mind with a printer ink subscription.

Since printer ink subscription services charge by the page, you can print in high quality instead of choosing draft mode to save on ink. You also know what you're getting when the ink cartridges arrive in the mail; ordering aftermarket cartridges can be a gamble.

If you run a business out of your home and your printing needs go beyond the average person's clerical tasks, you might find yourself printing hundreds of pages every month. While printer ink subscriptions are not exclusive to small business owners, most of them offer plans with those folks in mind, at a lower cost per page.

If you can walk right to the wall of cartridges in the store and know exactly which type of printer ink you need without needing to look it up first, you deserve a medal. Running low on ink, for many people, means going into their Amazon purchase history or taking a peek at the existing cartridge to note the type and number they need before buying a replacement. Albeit not one of life's biggest inconveniences, it's still tedious and unnecessary if you sign up for a printer ink subscription instead.

You might find the lowest price on ink for your printer online, but there's a bricks-and-mortar store in your area where paper is dirt-cheap. Before you know it, you're making a fuss out of keeping your printer stocked and functioning when you could take advantage of a subscription service and eliminate time spent strategizing and shopping.

"Mom, can you print this worksheet for me so I can study for my math test?" "Hey, Dad, I need you to print out my book report in color — it's due tomorrow." The requests to use the printer at home can feel never-ending when you have kids in school. If your ink gets automatically replenished through a subscription service, you never need to worry about their random (and somehow always last-minute) requests to print something.