Out goes the free instant ink as higher prices kick in…
From the start of this month HP has introduces higher prices for their instant ink subscription service. Out goes the free ink “for life” option if you print 15 pages or less a month. This is now replaced by a monthly fee of $0.99 / €0.99 for up to 15 pages per month. Subscribers have to pay a monthly fee based on the number of pages they expect to print each month and no free ink “for life” option available.
Ink
| Pages per month | Monthly Subscription | Rollover pages |
| 0 – 15 | $0.99 or €0.99 | 45 |
| 16 – 50 | $2.99 or €2.99 | 150 |
| 51 – 100 | $4.99 or €4.99 | 300 |
| 101 – 300 | $11.99 or €11.99 | 900 |
| 301 – 700 | $24.99 or €24.99 | 2100 |
According to HP you can rollover up to three times your monthly service plan pages on Ink plans, for example you can roll over up to 300 pages if you are enrolled in a 100 page plan.
Laser
| Pages per month | Monthly Subscription | Rollover pages |
| 0 – 50 | $1.99 or €1.99 | 100 |
| 51 – 100 | $3.99 or €3.99 | 200 |
| 401 – 800 | $13.99 or €13.99 | 1600 |
| 801 – 1500 | $25.99 or €25.99 | 3000 |
Rollover for laser is less generous and you can only rollover up to double your monthly service plan pages. For example, you can roll over up to 100 pages if you are enrolled in a 50 page plan.
In an October 2021 analyst briefing, HP revealed they now have over 10 million instant ink subscribers and the HP+ programme is now operating in 35 countries, but the churn rate is 1% (100,000 subscribers) per month, or 1.2 million per year?
Don’t like the price hike? Then unsubscribe is the HP message. In an email sent to subscribers they say: “Your continued use of the Service after modification becomes effective will indicate your acceptance of the modified agreement. If you do not accept the agreement as modified, do not use the service and cancel it.”
Is it a winner? While HP supplies is a cash cow, instant ink is not the biggest slice and the ending of the free ink “for life” and the price hike may well see the churn rate increase.
