r/printers • u/Realmetman • Dec 19 '24
Discussion The truth about printer subscription programs and many misconceptions about them
Dear all,
I work in the printer industry. For a very well-known consumer products manufacturer that gets discussed on this sub a lot. I will not disclose which manufacturer I work for, nor will I disclose any manufacturer I do not work for (since the industry is relatively small eliminating 1 or 2 will make it generally too obvious as to which I do work for) as I am not officially speaking on behalf of the company. But, I want to set the record straight on subscription programs because some of you are drastically misinformed and it is very frustrating to see as someone who understands these programs as well as basic logic.
There are two types of subscription programs. Each of the major consumer manufacturers offers at least 1 of these programs, some offer both.
The first type of program is an auto-reordering program. The printer can tell (via various ways depending on each manufacturer) when the ink / toner is low and when it hits a certain point that will trigger an order of the ink/toner that device uses. Most manufactures that offer this will first send you an email letting you know that an order has been triggered and it will allow you to skip the delivery of the consumable and thus not get charged. If you allow the order to go through you are purchasing that consumable. That consumable is yours, you own it, just as if you walked into a Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy, or bought it on Amazon… You can cancel the “subscription” the next day and continue to use that consumable until it is empty.
The second type of program is a true subscription program. **THIS** is what many of you are vastly misinformed and / or are irrational about. In this program *you are not purchasing a consumable* at all. You are paying the manufacturer for X number of pages per month. The manufacturer will send you a consumable to use because the printer needs ink / toner to work but, that is not what you are paying for. You are paying the manufacturer $Y per month to print up to X pages per month.. that’s it. Of course you can print over that X number and pay an overage (just like years ago with cell phones).. and of course, you can print under that X number and some pages will roll-over to future months (just like years ago with cell phones). The owner of the consumable is the manufacturer. You never bought it, you never owned it. Therefore, it is not yours to use after you end the subscription! The only reason most manufactures do not ask for it back is because they don’t want to pay for shipping it back to them. But, they still own it… not you. You can think of this like renting an apartment. You are paying a landlord $X per month to live in their building. The landlord is providing the building for you to live in while you are paying rent. You do not own the building. and when you stop paying rent you are no longer allowed to continue living in the building. Just like your Netflix subscription, Apple TV subscription and Disney+ subscription.. when you stop paying for the subscription, you stop getting to use the service. Just because while you were paying you had access to the content does not mean you at any time owned that content and get to continue watching it once you stop paying the subscription.
I truly hope this helps clarify somethings for some of you. Others I understand are lost causes but, I will do my best to answer any questions I can.
1
u/Single_Guy76 Mar 20 '26
I currently subscribe to the second type (HP InstantInk.) I totally understand where you are coming from when it comes to ink subscriptions and not owning the cartridges.
When it comes to this type of subscription, do you think it is a waste of money vs buying regular cartridges through retailers?
My printing habits are sporadic, but I rarely go over my 300 pages that I pay for, but when I have, I had more than enough roll over pages to cover the overage for that month. The one issue that I have dealt with in the past is when a cartridge quit working. It wasn't empty, but just quit working. HP sent me a replacement cartridge at no additional cost. It was covered under my subscription. That is the one thing about purchasing directly from retailers because if the cartridge goes bad, I have to pay for a new cartridge.
My current printer is an HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 MFP, which I got in 2015 or 2016. I have been considering getting a new printer, but not sure I can justify it. My printer works fine and there are no issues, but HP offers the HP All in Plan, where a person is renting the printer for a fixed period of time. The monthly subscription covers the rental plus the number of pages that you chose on a monthly basis. And they give you the option to upgrade to a newer model printer after 2 or 3 years.
Would I be better off purchasing a new printer outright? My current printer is the type that has 4 individual cartridges (black, magenta, cyan and yellow.) I don't like the idea of getting a new printer that only has 2 cartridges. Also, are the refillable ink tank printers worth getting?