HP Instant Ink REVIEW - What is it like to use a subscription-based print?

To discuss this, I have with me an HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e printer that will serve as the guinea pig for using HP + and the HP Instant Ink subscription.

Instant Ink is a new way to think about refueling your printing peripherals. The subscription was launched by HP in April and allows you to set pricing plans, like on Netflix, depending on how many pages you print per month. This allows HP to send you ink cartridges in the mail, and everything is monitored by desktop and mobile applications.

Before we get into the details of the subscription, let's talk briefly about the printer, because hardware matters in this area as well.

Details HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e

The printer we used is an HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e, a multifunction printer that can print, copy, and scan. The printer connects to the internet and can be integrated with the HP Smart application, through which you can print, scan or schedule prints. But we'll talk about the HP Smart a little later.

The printer has a print speed of up to 24 pages per minute, copies and scans both sides in one go, and automatically prints on both sides. The printer is suitable for home offices, but also for small businesses. It also has a double-sided paper tray with a capacity of 500 sheets.

Black and white print quality is 1200 x 1200 dpi, and the color is 4800 x 1200 dpi optimized for HP Advanced Photo Paper. Also, the recommended monthly page volume is 2,000, but the maximum capacity is 30,000 pages. The printing technology is HP Thermal Inkjet.

The printer has 4 print cartridges, one for black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. The black cartridge has a maximum capacity of 1000 pages, and the colored ones of 700 pages.

You can print to HP OfficeJet Pro 9022e in several ways. You can do this directly from your computer in your browser or from Word / PDF Reader, you can also use the HP Smart application which helps you to program the prints, in case you want the sheets to be in front of you exactly when you need them and not to be exposed to others. people. HP Smart also helps you scan and use it on iOS and Android mobile devices. For Apple laptops you can use Apple AirPrint.

Otherwise, you can use the 2.7-inch screen, a quality capacitive touchscreen that feels good and is very responsive to commands. The operating system menus on the printer screen are fairly easy to use, even by people who are not so good at using the application.

But we talked about the HP Smart and the ability to print from anywhere. So it's good to talk about the key point of the printer experience, which is the HP Smart.

Windows Mobile or Desktop is the first thing you need to install to get the most out of this printer.

HP Smart app

HP Smart is available for Windows, iOS, and Android. The application allows you to monitor your HP printers.

It is also useful if you have a single printer, as we had in the test, but also for SME administrators who have multiple printers and want to constantly monitor their status and ink level.

After you install the app, you create an HP account and then after you open the printer the app finds it nearby and you can add it to your account. The application tells you if the printer is ready for printing, it is always on standby, but it also has a security zone, so that it can be protected against cybercriminals.

From the app, you can use basic functions such as scanning, printing, printing photos, or quickly change printer settings.

You can also see the estimated ink level in the cartridges from the Supply Status menu and whether you need to order new ink.

With HP Print Anywhere, you can allow other people to print to your printer through a link similar to Google Drive.

Basically, if you need some documents from someone, you can give the link and they will print. Everything goes into your printer. For the oldest of us, it's like a fax machine, but modern.

In addition, you can print on schedule. Let's say you need sheets before a meeting at 12.00. However, you don't want to forget about them, so the first thing you do at 10 o'clock is schedule scheduling and enable Private Pickup.

Then the sheets will be printed only when you confirm that you are in the printer. This is useful for open offices, coworking spaces, where you do not want to leave your company documents exposed to everyone.

Overall, it was easy for me to use the HP Smart. And I know that many of you who look at it don't necessarily have problems with printers, but I've always had a hard time using them if they weren't set by someone else. I messed up the settings, the setup, all sorts of simple but challenging things for me. So the fact that I was able to easily set up HP Smart, that my printer was connected and that I was able to use all the Cloud services was a victory for me.

But the biggest news is HP Instant Ink, which is the service through which you can subscribe to cartridges. Each month you receive as much as you use, the subscriptions depending on the number of pages received.

How does HP Instant Ink work?

HP Instant Ink is a subscription launched in April this year in Romania and provides you with the necessary amount of ink for your printer every month, if you need it.

The service is available for Deskjet 2000 and 4000 series inkjet printers, as well as the HP OfficeJet Pro range. The subscription will also be available for laser printers in the fall. If you already have an Instant Ink compatible printer, the HP Smart application detects and tells you your average power consumption when you sign up for the printer, so you know which subscription to choose from the start.

Your subscription can be activated from your HP account and from the HP Smart application. The HP Instant Ink subscription is designed to give you more flexibility. Because there are some months when you print 200 pages, others when you have nothing to print. So the subscription allows flexibility, an adapted consumption, but also ensuring the recycling of cartridges, because we know that not many people do this usually.

With HP Instant Ink, you make sure you never run out of ink. At the moment you have five possibilities, from 5 lei per month for 15 pages, up to 100 pages per month to 25 lei or 123 lei for 700 pages per month, the last subscription being the one recommended for companies. We are talking about subscriptions dedicated to SMEs or small companies, with 4-5 employees. For larger companies, the classic solutions could be better logistically.

Once you sign up for HP +, you get 6 months of free Instant Ink and an extended printer warranty. The printer also comes with a number of standard cartridges, but once HP Instant Ink is turned on, you receive the first delivery, in a box like this, containing the cartridges, a bag that you can use to resend the used cartridges for recycling, and instructions for use. Once the cartridges are inserted into the printer, the HP Smart application monitors the number of pages used and the ink level.

The cartridges do not arrive every month, but depending on how you use them. If you have a month in which you have not used too many sheets for printing, you can defer the number of pages for the next month, but within 3 months. And if you print more than the subscription available for you, you can purchase more pages from HP Smart.

This way you have better control over the cost and usage of printers, but you also get rid of the logistics of purchasing cartridges and delivering them. Besides, we all know what the pandemic was like. I went home, the office printers were a bit dry, they weren't used for a long time. Flexibility helps.

In addition, recycling can be done at points in electro-IT stores in Romania.

Once I signed up for HP Instant Ink, I received a confirmation SMS the same day that delivery would begin, and two days later the cartridges arrived via DHL.

According to HP data, you save up to 70% of the cost of ink cartridges. The subscription is flexible and monthly, you can practically cancel, downgrade or upgrade it according to your needs in a certain month. Delivery is done automatically once the ink or page level consumed has reached the limit.

At a simple calculation, a set of new cartridges costs 560 lei and you can print about 1,000 pages. Instead, with an HP Instant Ink subscription you can print 700 pages for 123 lei. Another advantage is that in the case of the subscription model, it does not count how much ink you use, but how many sheets. So, it doesn't matter if you print full color on the whole page, if you have images, because it will matter how many sheets you use, not how you use them.

The service currently has 9 million customers worldwide. And if you have a subscription to Netflix, Spotify or other subscription-based services, then it will be easy for you to understand Instant Ink. It is practically a modern development of a field that did not have a very clear control over the amount of ink used, the recycling or the number of sheets used.

Pro points

Points Against

So, we have a mixed review. A printer, an application and a service. It all works together. And I know it can be a little tricky to understand.

And you may choose a subscription that is too large for you until you catch how many pages you print, but at least you can carry over the number of sheets.

What's complicated here? You need to change your consumer behavior, whether it's personal or employee behavior. However, you have better logistic control of printing. And it's pretty simple that I figured out how to use it. However, printers will generate a usage report that you can print and see exactly how much you printed to help you choose a new subscription option, for example.