One MAJOR way we save a ton of money in our homeschool is by printing and binding as much ourselves as we possibly can!. One reason (among many) that I was drawn to Peaceful Press for our homeschool curriculum initially was because it was a digital download and I could print and bind it myself. This saves SOOOOO much money! I have gone the same route for my own homeschool resources I sell to help other families save money. I may offer printed versions in the future as my business grows, but I really wanted to create affordable resources for families. So today, I'll share what I use to print and bind my curricula and other homeschool resources very cheaply! This blog post contains Amazon affiliate links to the resources I have purchased and use in our homeschool.
Let's start with printing. We have a very economical printer, but I bought a printer that had photo printing capabilities so I could print things with more clarity, vibrance, and crispness than most other affordable printers are able to print. We use an HP Envy Photo 7155 printer (it's not available anymore - it's a few years old but still works perfectly). We are signed up for the Instant Ink program so we pay a few dollars a month and are sent new ink cartridges whenever ours our low. I have loved this so much!
When I print, I typically am printing PDFs using Adobe Acrobat. I use the following print settings for resources with lots of pictures or graphics (otherwise I just use the standard settings if it's mainly just text or simple black/white graphics). When I go to print, I go to "properties" (every computer/printer may have slightly different settings and this screen may look a little different, so you may need to play around with it).
Then I will choose "Print Quality: Best" under Properties so that it is printing the best it can.
Lastly, I go to the "Advanced" tab along the top of the Properties window and I choose "Print in Max DPI." This prints with the most ink it can per inch so it also makes the print look better. Like I wrote earlier, these settings may be in different spots or worded differently for your exact computer and printer, but there should be options to choose a better print quality (consult an owner's manual or search online to get to know your specific printer's settings or just play around with printing at different settings).
As for paper, I typically just use regular printer paper from the store for most things. I do use thicker cardstock for things like artwork, timeline cards, etc. that I might display.
Now moving on to binding. I bought this very inexpensive binding machine over a year ago and have LOVED it. It's under $50 and I've had zero issues with it! It uses plastic binding combs, so I bought a couple different sizes. It comes with 3/8" combs. I also bought 1/2" combs and 3/4" combs. This gives me a variety to have on hand for the different amounts of paper that will bein each book I create.
For the covers, I use these PVC Binding Presentation Covers to protect the pages. It is a bit annoying because I end up punching the comb holes into the PVC cover and it doesn't fully punch the PVC notches like it does with paper, so I go through and cut off the parts that aren't fully detached, but for the sake of saving money, it's not a big deal.
The books held up really great with daily use all of last year, so I'm hopeful the ones for this upcoming school year will as well. I love that they can open and fold flat which is great for writing on the left pages (for right-handed people) and the right pages (for left-handed people) so you aren't tryigng to write up against a thick comb. They also lay really nicely when fully open.
They also can stand upright really well on our homeschool cart! Overall for very little money, I'm able to print and bind for years to come and save so much $$$$ over the years! I hope this breakdown of how we print and bind was helpful for you in your homeschool!