This post is brought to you by HP Instant Ink. All opinions are my own.

It never fails: right in the middle of a big print job I notice the ink getting lighter and lighter. Then it’s gone. Nothing but a faded memory on a half-printed page. With the amount of ink we use in this house, you’d think we’d be better at checking our levels more often! The thing is, I can’t even remember to check the gas levels in my car, and that gauge stares me in the face every day. Remembering to check something that I can’t actually see without really looking? Not going to happen.

HP Instant Ink: Print Your Heart Out Without Worries!

HP is a big name in our house. My grandfather, a man who spent his entire retirement years surrounded by electronics- swore by HP. I’m actually writing this on an HP Envy Rove All-in-One computer right now. It makes sense that the masters of the electronics industry would come up with such a simple concept:  an automatic ink cartridge replacement service.

HP Instant Ink is an awesome service that actually monitors your ink usage and knows when you’re getting low. Your printer actually orders the ink for you. It arrives at your door and you keep on printing. Easy, right? Check out this great video to learn more:

Enrolling in the HP Instant Ink program was a piece of cake. You do need an eligible HP printer, of course. Fortunately, there are close to a dozen to choose from, ranging from as low as $79 up to about $350. I went with the HP ENVY 5660 e-All-in-One Printer because, well, it kind of matches my computer!

Once you have your eligible printer, it takes moments to enroll. I set my printer up in under ten minutes. The printer did half the work, I just answered a few questions and input my Wi-Fi password. Then head over to hpinstantink.com and click “sign up.” From there, you can select the plan that fits your budget and printing needs.

Follow the directions and you’ll end up on a screen like this (except yours will have numbers under the name of your printer, I took them out of the picture)

Finish following directions and at the end, you’ll see this:

The great part? You don’t get charged until your special cartridges arrive and you put them in. The cartridges are larger than the XL HP ink, so you don’t have to replace them as often, which is better for the planet. Even more good news for Mother Earth? HP sends you a prepaid return shipping envelope. Send back your used cartridges and they’ll recycle them for you.

Ready for some EVEN BETTER news? You’ll actually SAVE MONEY by enrolling in HP Instant Ink, even if you’re only an occasional printer. If you go with the $2.99 a month plan, you’ll still save about $96 a year. Print a lot? Go with the $9.99 a month plan and save up to a whopping $672 a year. Don’t forget, you’re also saving time and gas money. Last week, I had to take about 45 minutes out of my day to go buy ink. That’s 45 minutes I could have spent doing just about anything else. Considering how swamped I am these days, I am thrilled to pay $2.99 a month to know that I have one less thing to worry about.

Now, if HP could just devise a way to automatically fill my gas tank, everything would be perfect!

Do you find yourself running out of ink at the worst possible time? How would HP Instant Ink help you?