Printer Hack with Printable Magnetic Sheets

Get ready for me to blow your mind with a printer hack with printable magnetic sheets that will be a game changer in your classroom. I am going to show you how to use a printer to create custom creations for your classroom for pennies in just 4 simple steps!

Step 1- Set Up a Printer Station With Instant Ink

First, set up a printer station. Here is a look at my HP8620 printer. I purchased it several years ago on Amazon at a Black Friday price. What I was looking for was a solid printer with HP Instant Ink. I print in bulk for conferences and training, so I could not go light on a printer. I also love rich, colorful prints for my classroom decor as well as everyday activities. (You can check out my classroom here.)What I didn’t want was the headache of running out of ink at the last minute or spending a fortune to have ink on hand.

You may not need a HUGE printer, but a basic one at an affordable price. Be on the lookout for HP printers that go on sale. This HP 2655 is more compact and much more affordable! (I got my huge one for $100 on a Black Friday sale so please don’t think I spent a lot either!) The most important thing is to get a printer with Instant Ink. If you need a list of the printers eligible, check out this list from HP.

Step 2- Keep Printing Materials Close By

Now, you can check out my collection of Astrobright Colored Copy paper, white card stock, and even my selection of Avery printables is located right above my printer. I can easily reload paper quickly. But the main reason I do this is to keep up with what I need before I fun out. Since I only have to purchase Astrobright paper occasionally, having this view lets me know when I am running low and need to reorder. I go through white card stock often, so I like to keep it in my eyesight.

Lastly, I keep my favorite… Avery Labels in this location as well. I am obsessed with them. I know there are cheaper versions out there, but I have never had an issue with this brand jamming up my printer or causing me issues. Check out the online templates I can use from Avery.

Step 3- Instant Ink Means Never Stress About Ink Again!

Once you hook up your printer, sign up for Instant Ink here. They have different payment plans for any level of printing ranging from $4-$10 a month. You can use codes to get FREE INK as well! Sometimes they let you STACK codes and you can use all the codes to load up on FREE INK. I have heard that is happening right now so grab ALL these codes to claim 10 months of FREE INK. Seriously!

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What is HP Instant Ink?

The best news is HP Instant Ink ships ink to your house for you! There is no extra charge and they send it directly to you BEFORE you need it. I changed out my black ink last week and I have these three color ink cartridges just waiting for when they run out. Since I started Instant Ink over a year ago, I have NEVER run out of ink. Not once.

With HP Instant Ink, you pay a flat fee of a few dollars per month for printing. If you happen to go over that amount, which I always do in the month of July specifically, you simply pay a few cents more per page. Just a few cents! I am telling you it is THAT simple. Instant Ink also alerts you if you are close to using all your pages for that month and when your roll date occurs so you can plan accordingly. And they even allow rollover pages if you don’t use all your pages from the previous month!

Step 4- Printer Hack Using Printable Magnet Sheets

Avery makes Printable Magnetic Sheets that I have used for YEARS and I share them often at teaching conferences. Let me introduce you to Avery Printable Magnet Sheets. These printable magnetic sheets are golden! Each pack comes with 5 pages. One side is printable and the verse side holds the magnet, meaning these can not be used for double-sided printing. 

The biggest Tip is to One Page at a Time

I load the paper into my printer and select the file I want to print. Since my printer actually has a metal bottom, I load card stock into the paper section and then put one of the magnetic sheets on top of it. Then I print one page at a time. 

You can see these Avery Printable Magnetic Sheets PRINT what you want on the top and have a thin coat of magnet covering the back! This allows them to be 100% versatile! Imagine ABC activities, sequencing pictures from a story, magnetic back-to-school calendars, and even Christmas and Mother’s Day gifts!

One great “hacking” tip is to print sight words on the Avery Printable Magnetic Sheets. I print the same words on each paper but with a different color for each. One color for each tray!

Using This Idea in The Classroom

Next, I got 4 dollar store cookie sheets.
Each Avery Printable Magnetic Sheets will go in each pan.

Instead of digging through a bin of magnetic letters or words trying to find the exact words you need, you can create a customized list of words instantly! The only time consuming task is cutting the words apart! But have no fear, these thin Avery Printable Magnetic Sheets cut very easily. This also means you can cut out pictures of any shape or size and any other LIMITLESS idea you have in your head.

Check out these sight word cookie sheets now!

See how printing using a few color inks makes a huge difference! Now when a student drops a word onto the floor, we can easily place it BACK in the right pan!

Add a Leading Sentence

I also printed sentences for the students to create. These sentences are linked to Sight Word Stations. After I prep each cookie sheet with sight words, I simply change out the supporting sentences each week to create a new station for my little learners.

If I do not want to use Avery Printable Magnetic Sheets for the sentences each week, I can print them out on regular paper and tape them down.
I honestly and truly KNOW you will love using these Avery Printable Magnetic Sheets for all your magnetic needs because YOU can make sure each learner gets exactly the activity they need to be successful!

**If you are looking for these exact sets of sight words, they are in each pack of my Sight Word Stations.**