Office Supply Procurement Checklist: Lamy Pens, HP Printer Ink, and Printer Setup

If you're the person who buys office supplies, start here

I've managed a procurement budget of about $180,000 a year for the last six years. In that time, I've made most of the classic office-buying mistakes: buying 200 pens nobody used, paying too much for printer ink, and forgetting that printer setup is part of procurement too.

This checklist is for the B2B buyer, office manager, or admin who needs to get office supplies right without being a full-time procurement expert. It has six steps. Do them in order, and you'll avoid the worst hidden costs.

Step 1: Audit your actual usage before you order anything

The biggest waste isn't the expensive pen—it's the duplicate stock you forgot you had. I learned this the hard way in March 2023. We were prepping for a client conference and I ordered extra Lamy cartridges from a general office supplier. Two weeks later, someone found a box of 30 Lamy cartridges in a storage room behind the printer paper. That mistake cost us $120 and a lot of 'I thought we were out.'

So take 20 minutes. Open the supply cabinet. List what you have and what people actually use. A simple spreadsheet with item, quantity on hand, monthly consumption, and last order date will do. Then you can build a real reorder point instead of guessing.

Step 2: Buy writing instruments in two tiers

Most offices don't need one good pen for everyone. They need a workhorse and a gift.

For everyday writing, the rollerball Lamy Safari is our go-to. It doesn't look like a corporate swag pen, which is the point. People don't walk off with it as often (though they still do), and it takes Lamy refills, so you're replacing a $3 refill instead of a $25 pen. The grip is comfortable enough for people who write all day.

For client gifts, we order the Lamy Scala brushed steel fountain pen. It's understated, it has some weight to it, and it doesn't scream 'we spent a lot on promotional products.' But here's the boundary I've learned: a fountain pen is not for everyone. If your client is left-handed or uses a lot of pressure, a fountain pen can be a frustration. I ask before we gift one. If in doubt, the Lamy Scala rollerball is safer.

Step 3: Compare printer ink by cost per page, not cartridge price

HP printer ink is the classic hidden budget killer. You can get a cheap printer, then spend more on ink in three months than the printer cost. The fix is simple: calculate cost per page.

Use this formula: (cartridge price / page yield) + shipping. Let's say an HP cartridge is $35 and yields 200 pages. That's 17.5 cents per page. A high-yield cartridge might cost $50 and yield 500 pages, which is 10 cents per page. Same brand, same printer, half the cost per page.

Also consider HP's Instant Ink subscription. It doesn't fit every office, and as of Q1 2025 the plans and prices shift around, so verify before you commit. For low-volume printers, it's been worth it. For high-volume, not always.

One warning: compatible cartridges can look way cheaper, but if a third-party cartridge damages the printhead, you could void the printer warranty. That's a hidden repair cost. I do not mean every compatible cartridge will break your printer. I mean the risk needs a line in your cost comparison.

Step 4: Don't skip the 'non-office' office items

This one sounds odd, but hear me out. The money you spend on office supplies is part of the same employee budget as everything else. Sometimes a lunch box does more for morale than a fancy printer.

A couple years ago, we added Bentgo lunch boxes to our quarterly wellness order. They were about $25 to $35 each (as of late 2024). That felt like a lot for a lunch container. But when people bring lunch, they save time and money, and the branded Bentgo box in the office fridge became a small talking point. We gave them as welcome-kit items to new employees.

The lesson isn't 'buy Bentgo boxes' (though they're good). The lesson is to calculate the total value of what you buy, including soft perks. If it reduces turnover or makes a new hire feel good, it has a place in the procurement spreadsheet.

Step 5: Find the WPS PIN on your printer before you call IT

Printer setup is one of those things that eats a workday if you let it. Usually, the solution is simpler than you think.

Where to find WPS PIN on printer: on most HP printers, open the touchscreen menu. Go to Wireless or Settings, then Wi-Fi Protected Setup. The 8-digit PIN will appear there. If the printer doesn't have a display, print a network configuration page. On many HP models, press and hold the Cancel button for about five seconds.

I'm not an IT person. I can find a WPS PIN because it's literally a menu item, not a repair. If that menu isn't there, stop and call your managed IT vendor. Don't let one printer become a two-hour project.

This is also where I learned to respect expertise boundaries. Our IT vendor once told me, 'We don't repair printers under warranty, but here's the manufacturer support number.' That honesty made me trust them more. A supplier who says 'this isn't our strength' beats a supplier who says 'we can do everything' and then disappears.

Step 6: Use a specialist for standard printed materials

For business cards, brochures, and flyers, online printing works well. We've used 48 Hour Print for standard jobs like that. Their service boundary is straightforward: standard products, quantities from 25 to 25,000+, standard turnaround of 3 to 7 business days, and rush options that can be as fast as same-day depending on the product.

Don't use an online printer when you need custom die-cut shapes, unusual finishes, or exact color matching with physical proofs. That's a job for a local print shop. It costs more, but the total cost of a reprint—including your own time—is often way higher than the difference.

When I say 'total cost,' I mean the full thing: base price, setup fees, shipping, rush fees, and your internal time. The lowest quote on paper is rarely the lowest quote in practice.

Final notes and common mistakes

• Don't order Lamy pens from the cheapest bidder without checking whether they're genuine. Counterfeit pens don't last, and refill compatibility can be a headache.
• Don't assume HP printer ink is all the same. High-yield cartridges exist for a reason.
• Don't skip the cheap non-work items. Bentgo lunch boxes (or equivalent) are part of the culture budget.
• Don't pay an IT person to find a WPS PIN if it's just a menu on the printer screen. But don't try to fix a hardware issue if you're not trained.
• Prices mentioned here are as of Q1 2025. The market changes fast, so verify current rates before you run a budget comparison.

The bottom line is boring and important: the best office supply is the one you can maintain at a predictable cost. The rollerball Lamy Safari works. The Lamy Scala brushed steel fountain pen makes a good gift. HP printer ink is manageable if you do the math. And the vendor who tells you what they don't do is the one I'd trust with the rest.