jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I'm considering buying a new printer, and I've heard about the HP Instant Ink plan. From what I've heard, this is how it seems to work. If I print fifty pages a month, I pay $2,99, plus tax, and HP will send me both color and black cartridges at list price. When do they send that ink?

It seems that I would be paying list price plus a premium for HP ink. What am I missing here?

It seems that Canon now has a similar plan.

GHS58 Loc: Missouri, USA

You pay so much a month and no more unless you go over your plans sheet quantity. HP reads your print quantity and ink cartridge quantity. They send your a new one when yours is running dry.

sebottino

Jerry, you pick your plan based on the number of pages you print in a month, you pay that amount to Hewlett Packard per month, when your printer gets low on ink they send you new cartridges for free.

cbabcock

I have used the HP plan for years. They claim that the cost is half of what you would pay if you bought their genuine ink in a store. If you go over the number of sheets in your plan you are charged for additional sheets in increments.

DAN Phillips Loc: Graysville, GA

I love it, never a problem in several years. I have the $9.00 Plan. (300) sheets per month.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Interesting. My printing would be inconsistent. I might print several copies of books of 25 pages or more, or I might just print normal household pages. I guess they would charge more and send more ink for the busy months. I wouldn't want to wind up on the 300 page plan when I'm printing only 20 pages. I'll have to give this some thought.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That sounds good. The only ink you can buy for $9.00 is generic, and 300 pages is reasonable, especially since they let the pages roll over. Since I can stop or change at any time, I'll try this if I get a new HP.

cbabcock

The ink levels in the cartridges is monitored via the internet, and ink is sent to you accordingly. There is no additional charge for using lots of ink, as number of pages is the basis for the cost. And, unused pages do roll over.

sebottino

Good Morning Jerry, sebottino here.

I sent you a private message regarding this, don't know if you received it or not. I am using a Hewlett Packard Office Jet Pro 8210. It does duplex printing as well. I generate lots of pages per month, have been using the Instant Ink for a long time. By my estimates I save around $200 per year based on the expenses I have logged on other printers while not using the Instant Ink program. Your printer needs to be connected to your wireless system as Hewlett Packard reads your printing demands and sends you cartridges well in advance of them going empty, and they only send you cartridges that need replacing. You need to replace the original cartridges with the Instant Ink cartridges. You can change the number of pages in your plan at any time. If you look at the cost you pay Hewlett Packard per year for the program I am sure you will see it is less expensive than if you were to purchase ink once a year, and you never need to run to the store to get the ink. Hewlett Packard provides a free return envelope for your spent cartridges. Take a look, the program is well worth it.

bobforman Loc: Anacortes, Washington State

I suspect it is only me but does anyone else think this 3rd party monitoring is a bit 1984ish? If HP is tapping your in-home network to determine ink usage isn't that like someone looking over your shoulder? I understand all the marketing and other monitoring that goes on over the internet and I accept that but this external control of printer usage seems a bit creepy. Just saying.

sebottino

Really Bob, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Do you really believe that something could go wrong with a few marketing type programs simply monitoring how much ink my printer uses, wait a minute, there is someone at the front door, . . . , not to worry it's just a few FBI types who said my "Alexa" reported to them some disparaging remarks I made last night regarding Nancy Pelosi. They tell me I'll be back in 5 to 10 minutes, wait, what, . . . , YEARS! not minutes. Can I as least sign off on my ..............................

bobforman Loc: Anacortes, Washington State

Who's that knocking at my door?

AndoverBob

Be aware, if you decide to discontinue they brick the printer function. This is not hypothetical - it happened to me. Being we let the original cartridges run dry before trying the instant ink ones, this was kind of a rip-off. As a consequence, we are done with HP and bought an Epson replacement. I've used lots of HP printers over the years, but behavior like this loses a customer for life.

bobforman Loc: Anacortes, Washington State

AndoverBob, Thanks for the notice. In return, Epson will also kill your printer if they find you've been using 3rd party ink cartridges. If you do, don't even let them update your software/firmware. Everything will stop. Is there anybody who makes an owner-friendly printer?

Xmsmn Loc: Minnesota

I’ve been using this HP program for about 3 yrs. The year before I spent ~$125 a year on ink; I believe I haven’t spent more than $80 in any year since then (I’m on the $6/mo plan). Works for me!
Mark