5 Money Saving Tips for Printing and Laminating

PRINTING

Tip #1:  Take advantage of technology and only print when necessary.

• • Use a device to view your lesson plans while you are preparing and teaching. This alone will save a lot of ink.
  • As you look over the printables for each lesson, choose some of the black and white options when color would not add to the learning.
  • Only print the images needed for your child or group. Some images are designed to be shown only briefly and showing a digital version on your device may work just as well as having a version that is printed out.

Tip #2:  If your home printer is not a cost effective solution, try online printing.

• • Online orders make it easy to compare pricing options and take advantage of deals. This will save you the frustration of walking into a copy store, with little ones in tow, only to find that you are shocked or disappointed by high prices. Be sure to check each website for free in-store pick-up services if they have a location in your area. Be mindful of shipping fees as some businesses have great rates for printing but a high cost for shipping. Free delivery services for printing orders seem to vary from orders totaling $50 to $125.
  • If you are teaching in a co-op, you may wish to place a large print order from multiple lessons to get free shipping and split the total cost.
  • Some online printing options you may want to check out:

http://www.printonline.fedex.com

http://www.theupsstore.com/print

http://www.Bestvaluecopy.com

http://www.officedepot.com

LAMINATING

Tip #3:  Consider purchasing a Thermal Laminator.

• • They are by far the most convenient and least expensive option. They are sold at stores such as Wal-Mart and Amazon for as low as $20. We personally own an inexpensive thermal laminator and it has worked perfectly for years without any hints of slowing down! Any brand of thermal laminating pouches should work great! Amazon has very reasonable prices for thermal laminating pouches measuring approximately 9” by 11.5” with 100 pouches sold at $13 and 200 pouches sold for $20 as of Fall 2016.

Tip #4:  You may want to share costs if teaching in a co-op.

• • You could discuss purchasing laminating sheets together and splitting the cost.

Tip #5:  For small lamination jobs, use local printing stores.  

• • If you only want to laminate 1 poster or a very minimal amount of pages, the copy centers listed above provide laminating services as do most teacher supply stores. Keep in mind that they also have capability to laminate larger sheets if you need something bigger than standard paper size.