HP has launched in “All-In Plan”. It is an “all-inclusvie printing subscription that delivers the ultimate in convenience.” In the subscription, you choose one of three different printers and that’s it. You set it up, you print, and when ink runs out, they’ll send you more. It’s similar to Instant Ink, but this time they throw in the printer.
The three printers you get to choose from are as follows:
HP Envy for $6.99/month
HP Envy Inspire for $8.99/month
HP OfficeJet Pro for $12.99/monthNow, don’t get me wrong, getting into the subscription is simplicity itself. And given the cost of ink cartridges, the math on these printers isn’t so bad.
But here’s were the bad news comes in. The prices I quoted are only for the “light” printing plan. That plan limits you to printing on 20 pages a month.
Mentions HP Inc.
"In Soviet Russia… erm, I mean, oh, whatever… products buy you."
It's clear that HP's tactics are meant to coax HP printer owners into committing to HP ink, which helps the company drive recurring revenue and makes up for money lost when the printers are sold. Lores confirmed in his interview that HP loses money when it sells a printer and makes money through supplies.
But HP's ambitions don't end there. It envisions a world where all of its printer customers also subscribe to an HP program offering ink and other printer-related services. "Our long-term objective is to make printing a subscription. This is really what we have been driving," Lores said.
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HP has faced numerous lawsuits in relation to blocking device functionality due to third-party ink and has paid out millions as a result. So why is it still continuing down this road? That might be partially explained by the company's perspective on the vendor-customer relationship.
When people buy an HP printer, they consider it an investment. But HP thinks that when you buy a printer, the company is investing in you.
As Lores put it:
"This is something we announced a few years ago that our goal was to reduce the number of what we call unprofitable customers. Because every time a customer buys a printer, it's an investment for us. We're investing [in] that customer, and if this customer doesn’t print enough or doesn’t use our supplies, it’s a bad investment."