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It turns out that HP’s “free ink for life” plan was not really “for life”.
HP recently informed customers of the Instant Ink plan that after just three years it was ending its “free ink for life” contract, according to Consumer Reports. It doesn’t become so free from Friday.
What was this case? The company remotely monitored the ink usage of printer buyers (spooky!), And sent out a “free” cartridge when it was low … with some caveats.
Printing (and ink) was not unlimited. Users were allowed to print 15 pages per month. Subscribers were also required to have a credit card registered with HP. If you exceed 15 pages, HP will charge you a dollar for 10 additional pages.
Oh, another fun part of the plan: every five pages, HP WILL PRINT AN AD on your printer. Don’t worry, the ad won’t count towards your quota. Phew!
But now those good days are over. HP will charge program participants 99 cents per month for their 15 pages. Sure, almost $ 12 a year doesn’t sound like much, but, again, they signed up for FREE ink for life.
There are levels that cost between 99 cents and $ 24.99 / month for more pages, depending on your printing needs. One positive change to the plan is that you can carry over your unused pages up to a cap.
The bait and switch “free ink for life” deal is just the latest trick from HP (and other printers) to making as much money as possible with their machines. Writer Cory Doctor explains how HP has dried up customers with “security chips” in ink cartridges that prevent your printer from working if you try to use (cheaper) third-party ink.
Printer manufacturers face the same challenge as any other computer hardware company: how to get people to keep spending money after they make the initial investment. The winning formula is memberships, which is why you see tiered pricing plans for everything from fitness classes on Peloton to Apple’s cloud storage. So, of course, Big Printer is in the action.
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