“Cartridge cannot be used until printer is enrolled in HP Instant Ink” message

[PuebloBoy]

The previous owners of my printer surely paid for the ink - so why is HP still claiming ownership and stopping them from being used?  How petty!

[Bob_Headrick]

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@PuebloBoy wrote:

The previous owners of my printer surely paid for the ink - so why is HP still claiming ownership and stopping them from being used?  How petty!

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This is an example of the most common misunderstanding about the HP Instant Ink program.  When you (or the previous owner of the printer) subscribed to the HP Instant Ink program they are not purchasing the ink - they are subscribing to a certain number of pages per month.

HP supplies ink to cover the subscribed pages, but the cartridges remain the property of HP and as noted in the agreement they must be returned to HP if the Instant Ink subscription is ended.  See sections 5.d and 5.e of the HP Instant Ink Terms of Service Agreement here.

You will need to replace the cartridges with retail cartridges to use the printer.  If the seller suggested otherwise I would suggest contacting them for a partial refund.

[PuebloBoy]

Fine, continue to believe that signing up for so many pages is materially different from purchasing ink...

Point is, what are HP going to do with the left-over ink?  The previous owner can no longer print out his allocated number of pages...so it's a win-win situation for HP.  Would it really hurt them that much to let me use the ink without having to sign up to their (somewhat badly named) Instant Ink program?  Why is it called Instant Ink if they're selling printed pages?

[Bob_Headrick]

I do not make the rules, I just reported the terms.  I do understand HP's position - if cartridges could be used after the subscription was canceled there would be a great incentive to buy a one month subscription for $2.99, get a full set of Instant Ink cartridges (with typically more ink than the XL cartridges) and then cancel the subscription.  

HP has an extensive recycling program, I would suspect the returned cartridges are recycled.  Currently over 80% of HP Inkjet cartridges have recycled content.

As for the Instant Ink name, that is marketing.  The plan is intended to provide ink in advance of needing it so that you always have replacement ink when needed - thus "Instant Ink".