HP Instant Toner / Ink

Not sure if this is the correct subforum but I am thinking about buying an HP laser printer - the cartridges are fairly expensive with a nominal 1350 pages for £58 = 4p per page.

They have a sort of pay as you go deal toner deal that is £2/month per 50 pages on base plan. That is roughly what I print anyway (less as I have an ink printer and I only print when really needed).

As far as I can tell, this is a pretty good deal cost wise (equivalent to buying one toner cartridge ever two years).

Where it could be useful is if you print a lot of photos, as the so called average "number of pages " is based on 5% coverage of a page which is typically how much is covered with basic text. However if you print photos, you use 100% of page and hence number of pages from a cartridge is reduced by a factor of 20!

However, on the HP+ Toner (or ink for deskjets), you pay per page regardless how much you fill it.

Has anybody tried this sort of deal?

Is the delivery as prompt as they suggest?

They are giving 6 months free with new printers.

I've been on Instant Ink (50 pages plan) for years and yes it's been ok for me as daughter went through school and now college. The printer phones home when new ink is due, well before time, and the ink cartridges are bigger than normal. If you only use, say, 30 pages in the month then 20 pages roll over, up to 50 pages, to your new total allowance.

Just be aware that when you cancel the Instant Ink deal the printer will not print from those cartridges as soon as the cancellation goes through. So have a spare cartridge at hand if ever you want to cancel.

By the way I use the HP smart app which works very well.

Fabler2 said:

I've been on Instant Ink (50 pages plan) for years and yes it's been ok for me as daughter went through school and now college. The printer phones home when new ink is due, well before time, and the ink cartridges are bigger than normal. If you only use, say, 30 pages in the month then 20 pages roll over, up to 50 pages, to your new total allowance.

Just be aware that when you cancel the Instant Ink deal the printer will not print from those cartridges as soon as the cancellation goes through. So have a spare cartridge at hand if ever you want to cancel.

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Many thanks for this, but after I wrote that, I decided I wanted an all-in-one laser printer, and the HP ones were a bit pricey - surprisingly many were just usb2 in the more budget range as well. I looked at the Brother range and got what I needed, inc. wifi for £30+ cheaper, and the base cartridge it comes with is nominally for 700 pages. That will last me at least 6 months minimum, and the new official cartridges are rather cheaper at around £34 for 1000 pages.

In the end, most of my printing is technical reports, and tends to be like double decker buses i.e. all come at once (usually at start of a project). I decided my print pattern is probably too erratic i.e. I tend to print a lot in bursts, then nothing for ages.

On reflection, I think that the lease deal is better when you have a steady demand, or print lots of pictures.

Actually the claims how many pages a cartridge gives is rather ridiculous as it is based on the 5% coverage criterion (some agreed standard for marketing). 5% roughly equates to half a page of text, so a fairer standard would be 10%, But then a 1000 page cartridge would more accurately be a 500 page cartridge!!! It just proves how disingenuous the current marketing is.

On that basis, a lease deal is probably more attractive on a page basis but I got a £125 Amazon voucher for changing broadband supplier, and I bought the new Brother Printer with that for only extra £20, and nothing else to pay for ages i.e. worry about the future when it gets here - especially as my chances of getting to the future are steadily diminishing LOL.