Carta del Docente about to expire but you want a printer that has not been released yet? Here is how not to lose the voucher
, by Strato3D, 6 min reading time
Carta del Docente about to expire? Pre-order now from Strato3D with the teacher bonus and receive a voucher of equal value for the 3D printer being released later.
“My voucher expires in August, but the printer I want comes out at the end of the year. What do I do, throw it away?”
A technology teacher wrote this to us last week, and it sums up perfectly a problem we hear repeated every summer. You have a balance left on the Carta del Docente, you already know what kind of machine you would like — perhaps a new model, not yet on sale — and you find yourself wedged between two dates that will not cooperate: the voucher's expiry and the printer's release. In between, the very real fear of losing money that is rightfully yours.
The short answer is: no, you do not have to throw it away. And now we will explain how, without beating about the bush.
The dates first, because that is where the confusion starts
Let us be clear, because it is easy to get lost between one school year and the next. For the 2025/2026 school year the Carta del Docente amount is 383 euros — yes, less than the 500 euros we were used to. But the point that stings most right now is another: the balances from the 2024/2025 year must be spent by 31 August 2026. After that date, whatever you have not used is zeroed out. It does not come back, it does not roll over: it disappears.
That is why “expiring soon” is not a leaflet slogan. If you have credit sitting idle from the year that is about to close, the time to use it really is now, not in September.
The real problem: the voucher expires, the printer does not
Here is the crux. The machine you have your eye on may not be available yet. Think of a model like the Flashforge M5, or any of the new printers manufacturers announce for the end of the year: you want it, but you cannot buy it in July simply because it does not yet exist on the shelf.
The temptation at that point is to fall back on something you do not really need just to avoid losing the voucher. We have seen it happen many times, and it almost always ends with a stopgap purchase that then sits in a drawer. A shame, because that money was yours and could have become the right tool for your lab.
How we solve it: the pre-order
The mechanism is simple, and we set it up precisely for situations like this: it is called a pre-order. Do you want to wait for a printer we do not yet have, or that has not even been released? You pre-order it now, paying with your teacher bonus while you still can, and in exchange you receive a Strato3D voucher of the same value, with which you complete the purchase when the product comes out — in December or later, whenever that is.
And it does not have to be just the machine. The pre-order can cover a customisable kit — printer, accessories and filaments chosen together — designed for anyone setting up a lab from scratch who wants to receive everything ready to use when the new models arrive. You decide the configuration, we keep it locked in until release.
In practice: you use the Carta del Docente within its deadline, so you comply with the Ministry's dates, but you collect the printer (or the kit) when it is finally available. The value of your voucher stays intact, frozen in a credit that waits for you. No stopgap purchases just to avoid losing the money, no balance zeroed out on 31 August.
One thing we say plainly, because with schools we prefer to be completely transparent: the voucher we issue is spent with us, on strato3d.it, and is valid for the purchase of eligible products. It is not cash and it is not a way to get round the Carta's rules — it is a way not to leave money on the table just because a product's release dates do not line up with a bureaucratic deadline. Before starting, let us talk for two minutes: we will check together that your voucher's category is the right one and confirm the timings and terms of the pre-order.
And if you do not want to wait? Our bestsellers, ready to go
A pre-order makes sense if you have in mind a model that has yet to be released. But if you want to print now — and that happens, especially in September when classes start again — you use the Carta del Docente directly on the purchase, with no intermediate steps. These are the machines that leave our warehouse most often, the ones we recommend without hesitation for a school lab:
The Bambu Lab P2S Combo (€699) is the one we put in front of anyone who wants the complete package and not to think about it again: enclosed chamber, multicolour with the AMS included, reliable for daily use in class. If you are after something more recent and with dual extrusion, the Bambu Lab X2D (€629) is the newcomer that is going down very well. And for those with a tighter budget who do not want to give up multicolour, the Anycubic Kobra S1 Combo (€400) remains one of the smartest choices under five hundred euros.
If you want to see the whole range before deciding, take a look at the 3D printer collection — and if you are unsure which is best suited to what you need your students to print, that is exactly the moment to write to us.
For schools and public bodies we add a detail that often comes in handy: we are registered on MePA, so if your institution has to proceed with a formal purchase request, the way is already open. Carta del Docente for the individual teacher, MePA for the institution: two different channels, and we can support you on both.
In a nutshell
If you have a balance on the Carta del Docente that is about to expire and the printer of your dreams has yet to be released, you are not forced to choose between losing the voucher and buying something at random. Pre-order with us now, receive a voucher of equal value and take the time to collect the right machine when it comes out.
Write to us from the contacts page or drop by one of our sites, in Milan or Perugia: tell us which model you are waiting for and how much you have on the voucher, we will take care of the rest. Better to move now, though — that 31 August arrives faster than it seems.
The information on Carta del Docente amounts and deadlines refers to the legislation in force as of July 2026 and may change: always check the amount and expiry of your voucher directly on the official Carta del Docente platform. The Strato3D credit valid for 12 months is a service offered by our shop, spendable on strato3d.it for eligible products. Update scheduled: September 2026.
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