Price increase of HP Instant Ink

[AlanG2]

That was the implication of the email I received from HP when I cancelled the Instant Ink subscription, but then they probably would try to force you down the OE route instead of using compatibles.   I very seldom print photos, and when I did on the Officejet they were not vey good, so it will not bother me a lot if compatibles are not so good when I get a new printer.   

Question is, what alternatives would people recommend at reasonable cost, preferably with ADF and auto double side printing.

[choddo]

Very much depends what you consider reasonable cost. I won't touch Canon again (although I love their cameras), way too much hassle with their wifi support. Maybe their newer models are more reliable but the pain they caused me lingers.

[AlanG2]

I have had Cannon and Epson years ago (before wifi printers) and both gave up after a few years of light use.   I think the Cannon also suffered from drying/clogging of the cartridges IIRC.

By reasonable price I mean £60-100 bracket.   If they are only going to last 3 years it is not worth spending more.  I have seen comments about Cannon cartridges being expensive but have not looked into any comparison with others, I know none are cheap for OE.  Also not sure if all makes are covered for compatible cartridges as they seem to make a different one for every new printer.   I am sure this is not just to make life difficult!!

[MikeSanf1]

Printers are relatively cheap so they all make money by making the ink expensive. My HP 9510 cost about £150 and I believe a set of cartridges approach £100 to replace. 

[Bob_Headrick]

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@AlanG2 wrote:

Blocking supplied cartridges cannot be right, you have already paid for them?   That must be illegal?

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The above is one of the biggest misconceptions regarding the Instant Ink program.  When you sign up for the Instant Ink program you are NOT purchasing ink, you are purchasing a subscription to a set number of pages per month.  The ink is supplied, but remains the property of HP and must be returned if you cancel the program in accordance with the terms of service.  See sections 5.d and 9.c of the terms of service here.

[Bob_Headrick]

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@lohr500 wrote:

Hopefully someone will soon join the discussion who can explain how to terminate HP's access to the printer, whilst still allowing wifi printer connection to the network to facilitate printing!! In this way, I presume the Instant Ink cartridges will continue to work until they run out.  

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You presume incorrectly.  If the printer cannot contact the Instant Ink server it will block printing after a grace period.

[Bob_Headrick]

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@UnhappyPH wrote:

Hmm. I thought that when you signed up you had to use HP original  ink, even if you cancelled the instant ink subscription.
Not disputing that's what you were told. But it's not unknown to get different advice.Wonder if it depends on when you signed up?

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It depends on the printer model and what you signed up for.  If you signed up for HP+ the warranty is extended, you may be offered six months of free Instant Ink, but you agree to have the printer connected to the internet, accept all updates and agree to only use genuine HP cartridges.  The following links have information on the HP+ program:

https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/hp-plus.html

https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/home-printers.html

https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/officejet-pro-printers.html

https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/26/hp_says_its_cutting_back/

[Bob_Headrick]

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@Llanelliguy wrote:

I have just had a call with HP, they have confirmed that you can use compatible inks with your printer, when your contract ends using instant ink. 

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This may apply for your printer, it may not apply to others.  If you have signed up for the HP+ program you would be locked into "HP+ requires an HP account, ongoing internet connection, and use of only Original HP Ink or Toner." See https://www.hp.com/us-en/printers/hp-plus.html

[Bob_Headrick]

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@saiwong wrote:

Hello,

I posted to this forum thread a few days ago. I can still see it in my post history, but the message seems to have disappeared from the actual main forum thread. My original post is here:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/HP-Instant-Ink/Re-Price-increase-of-HP-Instant-Ink/m-p/8286892 

Can anyone tell me why my post does not appear in the forum thread ?

thanks

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You had a good question, I did not want it to get lost in the very long thread here so I moved it to a separate thread here where it would likely get a response from an HP Support person or a knowledgeable HP Expert or another forum participant.  Unfortunately, I do not know the answer, otherwise I would have moved it and answered.

[Patrick921]

I was on the $0.99 / 15 pages plan as a very infrequent user but kept on going over my limit whenever one of the kids had to print stuff for school, so I finally (reluctantly) bumped up to the $2.99 plan.  More than I wanted to pay but hey 50 pages, right?

The month after I do, here's this $1.00 increase to $3.99!  This is nothing more than HP analytics group saying "hey here's how to make a ton of extra money on low-use customers".

Did they jack up the price of the 15 pages plan too?  Wouldn't know, since they still advertise them as $0.99 and $2.99 on the website as others have pointed out.

Sorry HP,  if this sticks, when this printer dies I'm done with HP printers.  Instank Ink is a nice idea but you got greedy.