Crayola vs. Maker Equipment: What an Office Manager Actually Compares

The comparison you didn't ask for

Let me set the stage. I'm the office administrator for a 140-person nonprofit. I manage all office and classroom supplies—roughly $80,000 annually across 8 vendors. I report to both operations and finance. When I took over purchasing in 2020, I inherited a cabinet full of half-dead markers and three different brands of colored pencils. That experience taught me more than any product spec sheet.

Every few weeks, someone asks me about Crayola. Teachers ask for the Crayola colored pencils 24 pack because the color names are consistent. Parents search for the Crayola easel pink and wonder if a cheaper easel would be the same. And lately, the same people also ask about a 'cricket printer' and a 3D printer. So let me compare the two sides from a purchasing perspective: traditional Crayola art supplies versus maker technology. Not as a fan, and not as a tech evangelist—just as a buyer.

Upfront cost: sticker price vs. real cost

Here's the simple math. A Crayola colored pencils 24 pack costs about $6 to $9 at most major retailers. A Crayola easel pink model runs roughly $60 to $100, depending on where you buy it. A Cricut cutting machine—often searched as 'cricket printer'—costs about $250 to $450. A basic 3D printer costs $200 to $600. Prices based on current major online listings as of March 2025; verify current rates before you budget.

But if you've been in procurement longer than a month, you know sticker price is not the full cost. It's tempting to think you can just compare the hardware price. The 'cheaper machine' advice ignores training time, consumables, failed prints, and the hour you spend figuring out why the software won't connect.

For our organization, $500 in Crayola supplies reaches every classroom immediately. The same $500 gets one maker machine and almost nothing to run it. That doesn't mean the machine is a bad buy. It means the comparison has to be deeper than price.

Time-to-value: what 'ready to use' actually means

Crayola products have almost zero learning curve. Open the box. Put the colored pencils on the table. Done. The Crayola easel pink took me maybe 10 minutes to assemble. No app, no firmware update, no registration. That's real value when you're setting up a classroom at 7:30 in the morning.

Compare that to a Cricut. The hardware is easy to unbox, but the Design Space software is a separate process. You have to load a mat, choose the right cut setting, change blades, and test a scrap piece. Your first vinyl cut will probably be a learning experience. Not terrible, but not zero.

A 3D printer is a different animal. I'm not a 3D printing engineer, so I can't teach you how to use 3d printer slicing software. What I can tell you from a procurement perspective is that the machine is the easy part. The person learning it needs hours of practice.

This is where I used an overtime calculator. Before buying our 3D printer, I estimated 10 hours of staff training at $30 per hour. That's a $300 hidden cost. Finance approved the purchase only after I added that line item. If you're considering a maker machine, do that math first. The overtime calculator will tell you whether that 'cheap' 3D printer is actually cheap.

Output: what the tool actually creates

The Crayola colored pencils 24 pack is not just a commodity. For us, it's 24 consistent colors that every teacher can rely on. A child picks up a blue and knows it's blue. With cheap pencils, the color isn't necessarily the problem—the inconsistency is. When kids are sharing supplies, consistency matters more than any single color being 'best.'

The Crayola easel pink was another purchase I almost skipped. Looking back, I'm glad we ordered it. It's a vertical drawing surface, which changes how kids use their arms and posture. A flat table doesn't do that. It matters when you run art classes all day, and it's the kind of thing you only notice after it's missing.

Maker equipment produces different outputs. A Cricut cuts vinyl, cardstock, and fabric. It's great for custom labels, signs, shirts, and stickers. A 3D printer makes dimensional objects—prototypes, replacement parts, math manipulatives. Both are impressive. Both are also tool-specific.

Here's the surprising conclusion: For a shared classroom, Crayola often creates more usable value per dollar. A box of pencils reaches 24 kids immediately. A Cricut reaches one kid at a time while an adult supervises. That doesn't make Cricut bad. It makes it a different type of investment.

Maintenance: the hidden budget killer

Crayola products have no power cord. No blades to replace. No software updates. The biggest maintenance issue is a lost cap. For an admin buyer, that's a beautiful thing.

A Cricut has cutting mats that lose their stick, blades that dull, and design files that need updating. A 3D printer has a hot end, a build plate, filament that jams, and prints that can peel off halfway through. If you don't have a person who actually wants to learn this stuff, the machine becomes an expensive paperweight.

This worked for us because we have a staff member who genuinely enjoys the Cricut. I can only speak to our situation. If you don't have that person in your building, buy more Crayola.

Safety and supervision

I manage a building with young kids in the after-school program. Non-toxic matters. Crayola art supplies are non-toxic, washable, and most are recyclable through their program. We don't think twice about a 4-year-old holding a colored pencil.

Cricut blades are sharp. A 3D printer nozzle is hot enough to burn. Filament fumes are not something I'm qualified to assess—if you're setting one up, check current safety guidance. In a mixed-age space, maker equipment requires rules and supervision.

For us, the safe choice was to keep Crayola in the shared supply closet and put maker equipment in a locked teachers' room. That's not a judgment on either option. It's a physical lay-out decision based on who uses the space.

So which one should you buy?

Choose Crayola first if:

• You work with children under 8.
• You need washable, non-toxic supplies.
• Your budget is under $500.
• You don't have a staff member who is excited about tech.
• You need supplies ready daily, not after setup.

Choose the Cricut, or 'cricket printer,' if:

• You need repeatable flat cuts: labels, signs, vinyl, cards, shirts.
• You have a staff member willing to learn Design Space.
• You can budget for extra mats and blades.

Choose a 3D printer if:

• You have a STEM curriculum or prototyping need.
• You know exactly who will maintain it.
• You use an overtime calculator to budget for learning time.
• You're okay with failed prints in the beginning.

You don't have to choose one for the whole organization. Our budget is roughly 80% Crayola, 15% consumables for the Cricut, and 5% 3D printer filament. That wasn't a popularity decision. It was based on who actually uses the equipment and how often.

Bottom line

I'm not here to tell you Crayola is 'better.' I've bought generic art supplies when the budget required it, and I'd do it again. But I'd rather spend 10 minutes explaining options than deal with mismatched expectations later. An informed customer asks better questions and makes faster decisions.

So if you're comparing a paper supply with a printer, don't compare sticker prices. Compare the full cost: training time, maintenance, safety, and who will actually use it. That's the comparison I wish more people asked for.