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HP Instant Ink: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 10:37, 14 January 2025
| Basic Information | |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2013 |
| Product Type | Subscription Service |
| In Production | Yes |
| Official Website | https://instantink.hpconnected.com |
HP Instant Ink is a subscription service launched by HP Inc. for their printers in late 2013 [1]. Consumers with compatible printers can choose from 5 different plans depending on the volume of their usage and receive a set amount of ink every month to cover that usage. The monthly price includes the relevant ink or toner, delivery and recycling of used cartridges.
In 2024, HP started offering paper in monthly plans for an additional fee in the U.S., the UK, metropolitan France, and Germany. [2]
Also in 2024, a new HP All-In Plan, a printer lease programme was announced, including a printer that limits the number of pages you can print itself removing the ability to use other cartridges. [3] The programme offers 3 different printers, each with different printing plans offered according to pages to be printed, at different prices.
Pricing
As of January 2025, the pricing of each tier of the service for customers in the US, was as follows:
| HP Instant Ink | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | Occasional | Moderate | Frequent | Business | |
| Pages / Month | 10 | 50 | 100 | 300 | 700 |
| $US / Month | 1.49 | 4.99 | 6.99 | 13.99 | 27.99 |
| Paper Plan | |||||
| +$US / Month | 0.79 | 1.99 | 3.49 | 5.99 | 10.99 |
| Total | 2.28 | 6.98 | 10.48 | 19.98 | 38.97 |
Cost Saving
HP claims that "[m]ost customers save on ink and many save up to 50% versus buying traditional ink cartridges". [4] The cost savings are based on the monthly subscription cost of the 700 page/month "Bussiness" plan of the programme and the results are compared to cost per page to print ISO/IEC 24711 pages in A4 paper in color.
The printers used in the study that came to these findings in the 2022 and 2023 reports [5] were all HP branded and the ink or toner was OEM as HP notes in their FAQ sections (not using third party inks) and not comparing with XL cartridges.
Cancelation or Alteration of plans
HP Instant ink can be cancelled at anytime according to the terms of the service [6] with billing stopping at the end of the month. Upon cancellation all outstanding debts are collected.
The HP All-in programme can be cancelled for free if done within 30 days of enrolling and the printer is returned within 10 days of cancelation. If, however, the subscription has been maintained for longer than 30 days, and less than 24 months, there are additional fees in order to cancel (as per the FAQ in Jan 13). At the time of writing the Basic printer starts at $6.99 per month ($83.88 per year) and cancellation after 30 days but before 12 months will cost $120 in fees. At before 24 months it would cost $60 in fees. That is 143% and 71% of the pre year cost of this plan.
Lawsuit
In July 6 2021, a class action lawsuit was filed against HP. [7]
The main claims of the suit were:
- HP will block you from using cartridges or ink purchased outside of the programme, a fact they do not diclose.
- Cartridges and toners are not always sent in time.
- Sometimes cartridges are faulty on arrival.
- Prepaid return mailers are not always supplied.
- Upon cancellation, you cannot use the remainder of your ink.
As of January 2025, the case is still pending.
