Printing as a subscription

28 March 2024 News

HP has done the unthinkable and released its All-In Plan, a subscription-based printing solution that has many IT professionals and business users shaking their heads. The plan provides a printer – customers have a choice of three models – and a limited number of pages per month. These pages can be all in colour and the ink is free. That sounds wonderful but there is a catch. The cheapest plan begins at $6.99 (R134.00 at the current exchange rate) per month which limits the user to a mere 20 pages on an HP Envy printer. Increasing the number

of pages increases the monthly subscription: $8.99 for 50 pages and $10.99 for 100 pages. If you want a more capable printer, then the subscription again increases. If a user does reach the monthly limit and continues to print, they will be charged extra based on the number of pages printed.

The subscription model is also similar to that of a mobile phone. Once subscribed, the user is locked in for two years, with a hefty cancellation fee should they feel that they no longer require the service. Cancelling within 12 months generates a cancellation fee of $270 (R5151) and cancelling between 12 and 24 months comes with a cancellation fee of $135.

It remains to be seen whether businesses and the general public will embrace this new service with open arms or not. However, for anyone who has ever spent hours fighting with a non-functioning printer, this could seem like a godsend.

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