When you're shopping for an HP printer, you may notice that HP offers two model options. One is the printer model ending with the letter "e", such as HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdwe, this kind of printer is HP+ printer. The other one does not end with the letter "e", such as HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw, this printer is a standard HP printer. They have almost the same functionality. But the price of HP+ printers is significantly lower than that of HP standard printers. And users who choose HP+ printers can get 3-6 months of HP Instant Ink for free. This seems like a great deal, but is it really the case? In this article, we will give you a detailed analysis of whether HP+ is worth it.
What Is HP Plus (HP+)
HP Plus (HP+) is an optional service when you purchase an HP printer. When you choose an HP+ enabled printer, you get many benefits, including lower printer price, 3-6 months of free HP Instant Ink, extended warranty, cloud-based features, and more. The requirements are an HP account, Internet connection and use of Original HP Ink or Toner for the lifetime of the printer, regardless of whether you cancel your Instant Ink subscription after the 3-6 months of free trial.
Why HP Introduced HP+ Optional Service
Knowing what HP Plus is and what the requirements are, we can understand why HP offers HP Plus services. Indeed, the HP Plus offers some substantial benefits to printer users. But the ultimate goal of HP Plus is to bundle printers with original HP ink or toner cartridges, so as to better realize razor blade business model.
Is HP Plus Worth It?
Do not buy an HP+ printer if you want to save money with third-party ink or toner cartridges. Because HP+ printers only recognize genuine HP ink cartridges or toner cartridges. They will not accept any non-HP printer cartridges, even if you cancel your HP Instant Ink subscription.
However, if you only use genuine cartridges, HP+ printers might be worth buying, depending on your usage. Let's take a closer look at why HP+ printers are worth buying.
Printing Cost
If you don’t sign up for HP Instant Ink subscription service, the printing costs of both HP+ printer and HP standard printer are the same. But if you sign up for HP Instant Ink subscription service, the printing costs will be different. Let's take HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw and HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdwe printers as an example.
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw is a standard printer so you can not sign it up for HP Instant Ink subscription service. We assume you are using an HP 148X toner cartridge (W1480X) as it is more cost effective than HP 148A toner cartridge (W1480A). HP 148X toner cartridge yields 9,500 pages and costs $226.99. So if you use it in an HP standard printer, the cost per page (CPP) is 2.39 cents.
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdwe is an HP+ printer so it comes with 3 months of free HP Instant Ink service(it might be 6 months for other printers). After the first three months, HP will start billing you monthly if you don’t cancel the plan. Let's compare the printing costs of different plans for HP Instant Ink.
|
HP Instant Ink Plan |
Monthly Fee |
Rollover Pages |
Cost per Page (CPP) |
CPP of Additional Pages |
|
50 pages/mo |
$1.99 |
100 pages |
3.98 cents |
10 cents |
|
100 pages/mo |
$3.99 |
200 pages |
3.99 cents |
10 cents |
|
400 pages/mo |
$13.99 |
800 pages |
3.50 cents |
10 cents |
|
800 pages/mo |
$19.99 |
1600 pages |
2.50 cents |
10 cents |
|
1500 pages/mo |
$25.99 |
3000 pages |
1.73 cents |
6.67 cents |
From the table above, we can know that only when printer users choose the ultimate plan (1500 pages/mo), the printing cost will be lower than that of non-Instant Ink HP 148X toner cartridge. So, when you're printing less than 800 pages per month, signing up for HP Instant Ink service isn't a good deal. That will cost you more money than using a genuine HP W1480X toner in the HP standard printer.
Another factor to consider is the actual number of pages you can print each month. When you subscribe to HP Instant Ink service, you need to pay a monthly fee based on the plan, even if you don't print all of your plan pages. Although HP allows unused pages in a month to be placed in a rollover account and applied to pages in excess of your monthly allowance, the rollover account balance is limited to a maximum of two times your monthly service plan pages. That is to say, you may be charged for pages that are not printed. What’s more, when you need additional pages, HP will charge you $1 for each additional set of 10 pages or 15 pages. The CPP of additional pages is up to 10 cents.
Therefore, only when your monthly usage is 800-1500 pages (1087-1500 pages to be precise) and you select the ultimate plan, the HP+ printer - HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdwe is more worth buying.
Printer Price
The price of an HP+ printer is always lower than that of an HP standard printer. So putting aside other factors, HP+ printers are more worth buying in terms of price. Let‘s compare the prices of some featured printers through the following table.
|
HP+ Printer |
Price |
HP Standard Printer |
Price |
|
HP LaserJet M110we |
$99.00 |
$119.00 |
|
|
HP LaserJet M140we |
$139.00 |
$169.00 |
|
|
HP LaserJet Pro 3001dwe |
$199.00 |
$249.00 |
|
|
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdwe |
$249.00 |
$309.00 |
|
|
HP LaserJet Pro 4001ne |
$229.00 |
$369.00 |
|
|
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdwe |
$419.00 |
$544.00 |
|
| HP DeskJet 2755e | $49.99 | HP DeskJet 2755 | $72.99 |
| HP DeskJet 4155e | $79.99 | HP DeskJet 4155 | $99.99 |
|
HP OfficeJet Pro 8015e |
$99.99 | HP OfficeJet Pro 8015 | $159.99 |
|
HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e |
$179.99 |
HP OfficeJet Pro 8025 |
$209.99 |
|
HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e |
$229.99 |
HP OfficeJet Pro 9015 |
$289.00 |
| HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e | $339.99 | HP OfficeJet Pro 9025 | $399.99 |
Warranty
HP+ printers have a extended warranty up to 2 years. While HP standard printers only have a 1-year standard warranty. So HP+ printers are more worth buying when it comes to warranty.
More Benefits
HP+ printers have many other benefits like HP smart app, sustainability, cloud-based connectivity and security. If you care about these benefits, HP+ printers are worth buying.
Frequently Asked Questions about HP Plus (HP+)
Can I cancel HP Instant Ink after free period has ended?
Yes. You can cancel HP Instant Ink at anytime you want. But if you don’t want to pay a monthly fee, we recommend that you cancel it before free period ends. Besides, after you cancel the plan, HP will no longer ship cartridges to you. So you'll need to order original HP ink and toner cartridges yourself.
Can I still use HP Instant Ink after cancellation?
No. The printer ink or toner cartridges coming with HP Instant Ink will stop working after you cancel the plan. So please make sure you have original HP standard ink or toner cartridge replacements ready before cancellation.
Can I use 3rd-party ink or toner cartridges in HP+ printers?
No. HP+ enabled printers only accept original HP ink cartridges or toner cartridges. So you can not use 3rd-party (compatible and remanufactured) cartridges in HP+ printers even if you have canceled the HP Instant Ink program.
How to save money on HP+ printers?
HP+ printers will not recognize cartridges with non-HP chips. But they accept printer cartridges with reused HP chips. Therefore, you can order compatible ink or toner cartridges without the chip. Then remove the HP chips from the used original cartridges. By installing the reused HP chips yourself, you can make the compatible ink or toner cartridges work with your HP+ enabled printers.
As of now, we offer replacement HP 134A, HP 134X, HP 141A, HP 148A, HP 148X, HP 210A and HP 210X toner cartridges without chips. Many HP+ printer users have already embraced and benefited from these DIY toner cartridges. We are proud to offer this money-saving print solution.
Summary
HP Plus (HP+) is worth buying when it comes to printer price, warranty and smart features. But from the perspective of printing cost, you need to make a decision based on your choice of replacement and monthly printing volume. If you want to save money on daily print jobs by using compatible ink or toner cartridges, do not buy an HP+ printer. If you only use original HP cartridges, HP+ printers might be a good choice.