Review | ReadyPrint Ink Subscription From Epson
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Having a printer in our home is a must for us. I have one child at school who needs it for homework (or for homeschooling during lockdown), a younger child who loves to colour in and I find printing pages is far easier than purchasing books all of the time. My husband is working from home and may well be for the foreseeable so he requires regular access to a printer. And then there’s all of our home/life paperwork which needs printing and filing. However, there is always one drawback when you have a printer, isn’t there? Running out of ink. Surely this has to be one of the most frustrating things to happen, especially when you are halfway through printing something you need. My other bugbear here is having to go to a shop, work out which ink cartridges are compatible (yes, I am that person who has to take the used cartridge into a tech store to show the staff!) and let’s not even talk about some of the prices!
So, when Epson contacted me asking me to try out their ReadyPrint ink subscription and review it I was most certainly intrigued…
What Is ReadyPrint?
ReadyPrint is the new ink subscription service provided by Epson. The service allows you to sign up to receive ink directly to your door as and when you need it. With their clever internet-connected system, the printer will alert ReadyPrint that your ink is running low and will automatically place your order meaning you will never run out of ink again! Whether you print a lot, in full colour or just like black and white, there is a plan (see below) to suit all needs.
Is It Costly?
No, not at all, in fact, Epson state that you can save up to 70% by using a plan like theirs. They have 2 plans on offer with further options under these umbrellas. There’s the ReadyPrint Flex which works with the Expression Home printer or the Workforce and this plan allows you to select the amount of pages you will be printing per month, for example, if you only need to print around 30 pages each month, your plan will cost you £1.29 per month. For 50 pages you will pay £1.99 per month and for 100 pages it will cost £3.49. With this plan, you can also swap in and out as and when required as your needs change.
The other plan is the ReadyPrint Go which is a pay as you go service. You are not signed up to a subscription here but you will still be alerted as your ink is running low and can pay as and when you require it (again, it will be delivered straight to your door).
Oh, and if you are concerned about the compatibility of your ink and printer, just speak to Epson and they will help you out.
Whichever plan you opt for, the key advantages are that you are in complete control and you will be saving money as well as your valuable time. For me personally, the biggest bonus is that as a busy parent, it is one less thing to think about.
Putting It To The Test
We started testing our printer and ink back in November and have been putting it through its paces for this review…
Set-Up
The set-up is very simple, the cartridges slot easily into our Epson printer and I followed the clear instructions via the disk to install the system. I then set the printer up to connect to my laptop via the WIFI so that I don’t ever need to rely on any extra leads and can print from anywhere in my home. The final setup was to connect my printer to the ReadyPrint subscription service via the Epson website which again was very easy to carry out and now I can forget about having to worry about running out of ink.
Using
As I mentioned before, we get a lot of use out of a printer so using this each week to test it wasn’t a difficult job. With a lot of restrictions (due to Covid) still being in place at the time of starting this review, I was having to find more things for the boys to do at home. Jake was back at school for the weekdays but still had homework and still needed activities to focus on at the weekends. William was/is still home with me all day and there’s only so much play dough you can do so I needed more to occupy his mind.
So, one of the main ways we were using the printer and ink was by printing out colouring pages. I much prefer doing this over buying colouring in books as they can choose exactly what pictures they want and we can then save them or even decorate the walls with them!…
We have also printed a fantastic 30 page play guide from Daily Play With Amy who has a range of age appropriate downloads which are perfect for home learning and keeping the little ones entertained.
On top of this, we have been using it for work purposes, for household paperwork such as our new puppy’s microchip application and for our 1000 hours outside tracker sheet for 2021.
The printer has proven to be ideal for us as a busy household right now and I cannot believe how long the ink has lasted for. It has a four-colour ink cartridge loader and each colour is supplied individually, so you only need to replace the colours you need as they run out. This makes the individual inks 50% more efficient compared to tri-colour cartridges.
And if you are concerned about the environment as much as we are you will be pleased to hear that Epson are too. Epson have their own cartridge collection and recycling programme and because this printer is an inkjet printer, it doesn’t heat up the way a laser printer does, which means it’s much better for the environment and it’s quicker to use. More info here.
Back To Homeschooling
Life was all going so well with a new routine plus the prospect of William starting pre-school and then of course lockdown hit us again in the New Year. So, here we are, back to homeschooling and my goodness am I grateful for this printer and ink subscription service right now? School has sent a lot of work through and we are using the printer every single day now so receiving the ink directly to my door is vital for us.
And now I can get on with filling up our scrapbooks with the last colouring in pages because they are going to want more printed very soon!
Overall Thoughts
I’d not considered having an ink subscription before but now I’ve seen firsthand how useful it is and even more so at this current time. I love the ease of use, not having to run an extra errand and never running out of ink plus at just £1.29 a month, it’s not breaking the bank. To find out more about the ReadyPrint service just head over to the website.
*This Readyprint ink subscription review is a paid collaboration with Epson. All opinions are honest and my own, for further information please refer to my disclosure page.
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Oh wow! I’ve been looking for a new printer with all this homeschooling and this sounds like it would do the trick!
This is going to be invaluable during all this homeschooling! Thanks for sharing as I only use the branded ink for printers and now I won’t have to shop for it.
this sounds so useful for home schooling so thanks for doing such a detailed review!
Such a helpful review!!! Thank you! I’ll share it with my geeky husband, as he’s the one who sorts out all tech related stuff!
This actually makes me want to get a printer! Thanks Emma
That is much cheaper than I expected a subscription to be! I’m sure it has been worth it’s weight in gold with the home schooling!
Wow such a good idea! I definitely need a printer now my daughter is getting older!
Gah! I really need to get a printer as my old one broke over lockdown – elk. Will certainly be looking at model!
I don’t have a printer, but it would be really nice to have one especially since my daughter is home from kindergarten & she’ll be starting school this year so having a printer would come in handy!
We have a similar subscription with another printer brand. I only set it up a few months ago but it works brilliantly. Highly recommend, especially since so many are now homeschooling.
Hiya its good when your up and running as long as you don’t cancel your subscription it soft sailing them once you cancel then your printer don’t work it come up error code 950141 which me there block you from using your printer until they received final payment
Hi
Yes this is a subscription service so you do have to be all signed up and paying a monthly fee for the ink to turn up and for the printer to work.
Hi Emma, I’m thinking of taking out a subscription and have a very basic question that Epson don’t address on their website; do you have to keep the printer permanently switched on in order that they can monitor the ink level or can you switch it on and off as you use it? I can see that you need a permanent wifi connection (which we do) but I really wouldn’t be happy leaving the printer on 24/7 as it’s in a cupboard! Just a yes or no answer would be great. Many thanks.
Hi Clare it’s ok turn off, mine isn’t always on at all. You can also cancel or change the subscription as you need to.