Voy a la sucursal de correos en vez de imprimir.

Spanish often uses the present tense to talk about a planned or immediate future action, especially in everyday speech.

So Voy a la sucursal de correos can mean:

• I’m going to the post office branch
• I’m going to head to the post office branch

Using iré is more formal or more clearly future-oriented:

• Iré a la sucursal de correos = I will go to the post office branch

In normal conversation, voy is very common for this kind of idea.

No. That is an important point.

Spanish has a very common future structure:

• voy a imprimir = I’m going to print

But in your sentence, a belongs to the verb ir meaning to go somewhere:

• Voy a la sucursal de correos = I go / I’m going to the post office branch

You can tell the difference by what comes after a:

• a + infinitive → future action
  
  • voy a imprimir
• a + place/person → destination
  
  • voy a la sucursal

Because sucursal is a feminine noun:

• la sucursal

So:

• a + la = a la

The contraction al only happens with a + el:

• voy al banco
• voy al correo if you use el correo

But here:

• voy a la sucursal

Sucursal means branch or branch office.
De correos means of the postal service / of the mail service.

So sucursal de correos literally means something like:

• postal branch
• post office branch
• branch of the post office

Depending on the country, this may sound a bit formal or institutional. In many places, speakers might more naturally say:

• la oficina de correos
• el correo
• la sucursal del correo in some contexts

So the phrase is understandable, but the most natural wording can vary by region.

Because correos can refer to the postal service as an institution. This is similar to how some organizations or services use a plural form historically or officially.

So de correos does not mean of mails in a literal countable sense. It refers to the mail/post system.

You will often see things like:

• oficina de correos
• servicio de correos

It is just the established expression.

De is used to connect nouns, like of in English.

So:

• sucursal de correos = branch of the postal service
• oficina de correos = post office
• tarjeta de crédito = credit card
• caja de herramientas = toolbox

This is a very common Spanish pattern: noun + de + noun.

Because after en vez de, Spanish normally uses:

• a noun, or
• an infinitive

So:

• en vez de imprimir = instead of printing
• en vez de estudiar = instead of studying
• en vez de café = instead of coffee

You do not use a conjugated verb like imprimo after en vez de in this structure.

En vez de means instead of.

It introduces an alternative:

• Voy a la sucursal de correos en vez de imprimir
• I’m going to the post office branch instead of printing

It can be followed by:

• a noun
  
  • en vez de café
• an infinitive
  
  • en vez de imprimir

A very similar expression is en lugar de:

• Voy a la sucursal de correos en lugar de imprimir

Both are common.

Spanish often leaves out the object when it is already understood from context.

So imprimir by itself can mean:

• to print
• to print it / them / that, if the context is clear

If you wanted to make it explicit, you could say:

• en vez de imprimirlo = instead of printing it
• en vez de imprimir la etiqueta = instead of printing the label

The original sentence is grammatically fine if the listener already knows what is supposed to be printed.

It is understandable, but some native speakers might choose a more natural wording depending on the country and situation.

Possible alternatives:

• Voy al correo en vez de imprimir.
• Voy a la oficina de correos en vez de imprimirlo.
• En vez de imprimir, voy al correo.

Why?

• el correo or la oficina de correos is often more common than la sucursal de correos
• adding -lo to imprimirlo can sound more complete if there is a specific thing being printed
• changing the order can make the contrast clearer

So the sentence is not wrong, but there may be more idiomatic options.

Yes. In most contexts, en lugar de and en vez de both mean instead of.

So both work:

• Voy a la sucursal de correos en vez de imprimir
• Voy a la sucursal de correos en lugar de imprimir

In everyday usage, they are usually interchangeable. Some speakers may prefer one over the other stylistically or regionally, but both are standard.

No, they mean different things.

• en vez de imprimir = instead of printing
• para imprimir = to print / in order to print

Compare:

• Voy a la sucursal de correos en vez de imprimir
  = I’m going to the post office branch instead of printing
• Voy a la sucursal de correos para imprimir
  = I’m going to the post office branch to print

So en vez de expresses contrast or replacement, while para expresses purpose.

Yes. Spanish allows some flexibility in word order.

These versions are all possible:

• Voy a la sucursal de correos en vez de imprimir.
• En vez de imprimir, voy a la sucursal de correos.

The second version puts more focus on the contrast first:

• Instead of printing, I’m going to the post office branch

Both are grammatical. The choice depends on what you want to emphasize.