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HP has a new proposition for a time when you don’t have much control over your computer (which companies like HP ensure). Why not let HP rent you a computer? The company today debuted a subscription service called HP All-In Plan, as CEO Enrique Lores announced last month. This is basically an extension of his Instant Ink from HP, and like that plan, it sends you ink when it’s empty, but unlike that, the monthly fee also covers the printer itself .
Which printers are available depends on the plan you choose. Prices start at $6.99 per month for 20 pages of print and whatever the current HP Envy model is, and go up to $35.99 per month for OfficeJet Pro and 700 pages. If you exceed your page quota, HP will add an additional $1 for each block of 10 to 15 pages.
However, each plan is a two-year rental, not a lease-to-own situation. So if he decides that the HP All-In isn’t for him after all, he’ll have to return the printer and go back to interacting with other FedEx employees every time he needs to print. Also, if you cancel after your initial 30-day trial or less than 2 years, you’ll pay up to $270 in fees, depending on your plan and when you cancel.
This subscription is based on the idea that printers are frustrating products, similar to HP’s recent ad campaign touting its printers as “built to be hated.” The company’s configurator page lists benefits such as “continuous printer coverage” and “next business day printer replacement,” for example. That way, if a firmware upgrade causes your printer to blue screen, at least you have a way to avoid having to drive to the store to buy a whole new printer.
There are people to whom this plan will definitely appeal. Not everyone cares that much about feeling like they own their own printer. And if you’re like me, the type of person who ignores “low ink” warnings all the way until you run out completely and actually print something important, before you run out of ink. Receiving ink is great. Kid, just once.
But these are mainly because I don’t really print that often, and I rarely encounter the hassles of owning a printer. If a company does so, he can take two paths. One is his HP plan to address user hostility, such as a scanner that stops working because you bought third-party ink, or a printer that won’t work without significant effort because you moved overseas. It appeals to the frustration of the experience. Another approach is to create a printer that does pretty much what the user wants.
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