Prismacolor FAQ: Colored Pencils, Col-Erase, Epson Printers, and Other Things You Actually Need to Know

At some point, I went from 'I can make this budget work' to 'I have personally wasted enough money to buy a small car.' For nine years, I have handled art and STEM supply orders for a public school district. I have documented 14 significant mistakes, totaling roughly $18,000 in wasted budget. This FAQ is the one I wish I had before the first order.

The questions below are the ones I get from teachers, administrators, and one very frustrated custodian. Most buyers focus on per-unit pricing and completely miss hidden costs like shipping, counterfeits, and the wrong paper. If you're looking for a practical Prismacolor Scholar review or want to know whether Col-Erase pencils actually erase, start here.

Prismacolor Scholar Colored Pencils Review: Are They Good Enough for a Classroom?

Yes, for most classrooms, but don't expect Premier behavior. Scholar pencils have a harder core and a smaller color range. They don't blend as smoothly, but they also don't break into pieces when a middle schooler presses down like they're trying to carve a pumpkin. In my experience, Scholar is the better value for students in grades 6 through 9. I used Premier for everyone in my first year because I assumed expensive meant professional. That's how I ended up with a 24-pack of broken cores by October. Keep Premier for art electives and students who actually layer color. Use Scholar for general classes.

Are Prismacolor Col-Erase Erasable Colored Pencils Actually Erasable?

Yes, but 'erasable' means something different to the marketing team than to the person wiping out a mistake. Col-Erase pencils use a binder that stays more soluble, so they erase cleaner than the soft-core Premier pencils. That's the whole point. But I've learned to warn teachers: erasing depends on how hard you press and how long you leave the color on the paper. A light line erased the next day? Fine. A heavy line left for a week? You'll see a ghost. If your students are color-coding assignments and need to fix mistakes, Col-Erase is worth the extra cost. If they're shading an illustration, use regular colored pencils and write lightly.

Is It Worth Buying the Full Color Range?

The upside of a huge set is obvious: every color, no compromise. The risk is that most of those colors stay in the box. I kept asking myself if that one special teal was worth losing budget for replacement paper and erasers. For a classroom, a 24- or 36-pack covers the majority of assignments. When you buy the 150-piece set for every student, you're also buying breakage and missing pencils. Start with a core set and keep a list of replacement colors. Order those singly, not in another complete set.

Why Won't My Epson Printer Print My Color Reference Charts Correctly?

Before you blame the printer, check the driver. Epson printer drivers, especially the auto defaults, can shift colors to make photos look friendlier. That's great for a family photo, but terrible for a color chart you made with Prismacolor pencils. I spent a weekend trying to match a true red to a printout that looked orange. The fix: update the Epson printer driver from Epson's official support page, then look for a color-management setting and try 'Adobe RGB' or 'No Color Adjustment.' You may also need Epson's ICC profile for your specific paper. If you Google 'epson printer drivers' and land on a third-party download site, don't. Use the official one.

What's the Fastest Way to Find the Median Without a Separate Median Calculator?

You don't need a dedicated median calculator. In a spreadsheet, use =MEDIAN(range) and move on with your life. If you're teaching the steps, here's the version I use: put the numbers in order, find the middle number, and if there are two middle numbers, add them and divide by two. The reason the median matters: the mean gets dragged down by one student who didn't turn in the project. The median tells you what a typical student actually did. It's also a smart way to check whether your grading curve is fair before you hit submit.

How Does a 3D Printer Work Step by Step?

It took a district STEM lab to make me learn this, and then I was the one ordering supplies. Step by step: 1) You need a 3D model file, usually an STL or OBJ. 2) Slicer software turns that model into G-code, a long list of instructions telling the printer where to move, how fast, and how much filament to push. 3) The printer preheats the nozzle and bed. 4) It lays down melted filament layer by layer, waiting between layers so each one cools and supports the next. 5) After the print finishes, you let it cool and remove it from the bed. The part that caught me: failed prints are part of the cost. Cheap filament causes more failures. That's not a printer problem, it's a material problem.

How Do I Avoid Fake Prismacolor Pencils in a Bulk Order?

The question everyone asks me is, 'Where's the cheapest Prismacolor?' The question they should ask is, 'Is it real?' I ordered 24 boxes of discounted Prismacolor Premier pencils and didn't realize they were counterfeit until the color numbers were wrong. The reds looked washed out and the cores felt hard. That order cost about $340 plus a lot of embarrassment. Now I only buy from an authorized school supplier. I check the price: if it's way below wholesale, it's probably fake. I also look at the packaging. 'Authentic Prismacolor' repeated ten times is a red flag, not a guarantee.

What's the Most Common Budget Mistake You Made?

Thinking the unit price was the actual price. I once approved a purchase order for 200 pencil sets with free shipping on the listing, then got a surprise freight charge because it was going to a school rather than a business. The total was 14% over the spreadsheet. Shipping changes the math. According to USPS, as of January 2025, a First-Class Mail large envelope is $1.50 for the first ounce and $0.28 for each additional ounce (usps.com/stamps). That's for small packets, not bulk boxes. For any order that fills a crate, ask for a freight quote before you sign. My rule now: use total cost per usable item, not sticker price.