HP's All-In-Plan will let you rent printers, but it monitors them
HP has launched a new subscription service called an All-In-Plan that lets users rent a printer. The company has some restrictions in place, and monitors the content that you print.
HP's All-In-Plan is restrictive
HP will let users rent the devices for a fee, and the company will provide them with ink deliveries when you are running low (not to be confused with Instant Ink). The service also provides customer support 24/7 through phone or chat, though it does not cover repairs or part replacements. Ars Technica notes that the terms of service for the subscription outlines that HP will not cover damage or failure caused by "non-HP media supplies and other products", which likely refers to third-party ink.
The printer cannot be used offline
The ToS says that All-In-Plan subscribers will need to keep their HP printers connected to the internet to continue using the device. The agreement includes a clause that states HP can stop the service, and still charge you for it, if your printer is offline.
In my opinion, this is a form of DRM. But the company argues that a constant network connection is required to monitor the printer to keep an eye on the ink cartridge's status (to check if it is running low), the number of pages that were printed, and also to prevent unauthorized use of your HP account. In addition to this, HP will also monitor the type of content that you print, such as Word, PowerPoint, PDF, JPEG, Documents, along with the serial number of devices, cartridge information, and software that were used for the printing process.
HP can share your data with advertising partners
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the Privacy Policy agreement is the fact that it allows the company to store your personal data on its servers, for analytical purposes. You can opt of this data collection. HP says that it may share the data with its advertising partners.
HP's All-In-Plan prices
HP's All-In-Plan starts at $6.99 per month, and the company will send you an HP Envy printer of your choice. The basic subscription allows you to print 20 pages. You will be charged an additional $1 if you print an additional 10–15 pages.
You can opt for the $8.99/month subscription if you want to print 50 pages. There is a higher tier plan which costs $35.99 per month, and gets you an HP OfficeJet Pro, and you can print 700 pages. The catch here is that you don't get ownership of the printer, the subscription lets you lease the device for up to 2 years. You can read more about the HP All-In-One plan on the official website.
I honestly cannot fathom why anyone would choose this subscription. Sure, $7 a month can be seen as an economical option for some people. But, it just lets you print 20 pages. Yes, the plan does include the cost of the ink, but you should factor in other costs like paper. Besides, forcing the printer to be online is a bad idea in terms of privacy. HP is infamous for its firmware updates, and using "Dynamic Security", which is a protective measure that prevents users from using third-party ink. So your printer could be rendered unusable if you opt for alternative ink,
A 2-year All-In-Plan will cost about $168 (not including taxes), and you don't even get to own the printer at the end of the contract. The $35 plan brings the cost to roughly $840. That's quite insane. You are essentially paying just for the ink, so this is not really a cost-effective solution. The HP 6020e costs about $225 on Amazon.
You can get your own printer, ink and a ream of paper, and still save some money. That's probably the wiser solution, and you can't really put a price on privacy.
Well, if you subscribe to a software, an antivirus for example, you pay an annual fee, you’ve already taken the bait. Although most (my experience) software updates are just superficial.
Martin just posted a review about the latest malwarebytes 5.0 – “The changelog reveals nothing about security improvements and it remains to be seen if there are any in that release.” There you have it. It’s all about the money…
They lost before they ever got started. I will not rent a printer. Of course, I wouldn’t buy an HP printer anyway, and I have steered several persons away from them.
Renting is a trend nowadays. Renting cars, clothes and now printers, the latter only online and user’s data recorded and shared. A friend of mine told me “I’m not a capitalist, possessing isn’t my thrill, renting has my favors therefor”. Meanwhile he’s loosing money and enriching the bad capitalists, so it seems the best way to defeat bad capitalists is to be one yourself, right? :)
Junk food, junk products, junk clothing : I hear that cheap fashion stores are flourishing on the Web when it is so obvious that paying half price for a product that will last 3 times less is undoubtedly a questionable choice.
Education’s credo here has always been : avoid credit as far as possible and prefer quality to cheap, ephemeral products, it’s an investment in time.
a hp bot entered the chat
It’s a joke, right? Haha. Thanks for the laugh, Ashwin.
If this doesn’t fail I’ll lose all faith in humanity. Who in their right mind would sign up for something like that?
Hard to figure, but some businesses with clueless workers who print a ream’s worth of pages for a 30-page document may find it economical.
Here’s some great budget buys:
https://www.rtings.com/printer/reviews/best/by-price/cheap
Lots of ratings online for other printer models.
HP must be thinking: “Hey, if gamers happily tolerate garbage business practices like this, why not everybody else?”
Why buy a game when I can rent a half finished game from Steam and pay for the finished game in the form of DLC? Also, have telemetry taken by the persistent internet connection to Steam.
along that line… BMW wanted to force buyers to “subscribe” to certain vehilce accessories i.e., heated sterring wheel. Because, BMW said, if they can afford a BMW, they can pay for (stupid) accessories.
@ Ransom Ware
Same with Tesla
Are you fucking serious?
No thanks, don’t care to play rent a printer with HP. Just another money grab to keep customers on the hook and a constant revenue stream for HP. So many other more practical options for printers and where to buy ink. I would much rather HP sell their printers at a reasonable profit margin and also their ink. That would be a better business model then a rent a printer model.
Ashwin did not even mention that you pay a fee when you want to cancel in the first 24 months after the first 30 days. Costs sometimes more than keeping the subscription running :)
Silicon Valley-based publicly traded companies are the absolute worst. No thanks.
HP has the worst ink printers ever.
The best idea to waste your money.
Welcome to the future. Wait for microsoft to pull the same stunt.
Good thing my laserjet 8100 still works and I have tons of ink.
“prattle on about their privacy”. So says the guy who posts as anonymous. Go figure huh?
I defend this, and honestly it’s creepy seeing people on the internet prattle on about privacy and whatnot. Having access to the kind of things you print is really useful to HP and advertisers alike, it helps them figure out the direction they need to develop things in and it even saves them money – normally you’d pay an advertising agency to do this kind of research for you.
Eventually it gets cheaper for the end users too, so calm down please, it’s not they’re able to snoop in on the images or text you’re printing. And besides you’re renting the printer so it makes sense that they won’t allow you to use third party ink – with their own printer ink they’re sure of the kind of service they’re providing to people but with third party? I’m sorry but you’ve got only yourself to blame.
Nice troll. Sure to snag a lot of angry replies.
You are just the customers that HP wants. Oblivious, gullible and clueless.
Really f*ck HP on this.
Well, Anonymous, the part about “you’ve got only yourself to blame” would have been absolutely correct if you had only followed it with “if you subscribe to this nonsensical service”. HP must be getting really desperate because this has no chance at all of attracting anyone. It is the worst marketing idea since the Bud Light. The genius who came up with this plan might as well start getting a resume in order (hint to him or her: I’d suggest glossing over your part in developing this idea)
Brother laser printers remain my go to printers because of their high quality, ease of use, and fair pricing.
Once HP (or any corporation) gets your credit card, you’re screwed.
Once had Dell computer lease, payments didnt stop until the machine was returned. They wouldnt give me an address to return it. They kept charging me nonstop. They woudlnt respond to emails, only calls. And no one answered. Cancelled my CC to stop them, then got the CC to reimbuse me for the money they took. A nightmare. That is the future people.
^ must be a HP sponsored reply :D