HP's Instant Ink shutdown leaves canceled subscribers with unusable cartridges

Home printers already have a reputation for being expensive and surprisingly wasteful. 

Now, social media users have highlighted in an online discussion that HP's Instant Ink subscription cartridges may stop working once the linked plan is canceled. 

Here's what to know

After saying HP messaged the customer that it had disabled subscription cartridges when the plan was canceled, the original poster shared a screengrab of the message to r/AntiConsumption on Reddit.

Thousands of commenters jumped in to share their anger about the policy.

"So glad I didn't buy an HP," said one of the top comments.

Much of the conversation focused on how HP's Instant Ink program is set up. Instead of simply buying cartridges outright, customers participating in the subscription receive ink shipments and pay a monthly fee based on how many pages they print.

One commenter explained, "The thing is, HP isn't going to let you 'subscribe', pay $2, and send you a $25 cartridge, then let you keep that cartridge if you cancel right after. It's a physical product, not Netflix."

But even with that explanation, many Redditors said the arrangement is exactly why printer subscriptions make people uneasy. If a cartridge is switched off before all the ink is used, that can mean more waste created and more money wasted on replacing perfectly usable supplies.

More background

Consumers increasingly want to make sure they fully own the devices they buy. After all, printers can be really expensive, so it makes sense to want to get your money's worth.

For occasional users, subscription printing may sound inexpensive at first, particularly when plans start at very low monthly prices. But that value proposition can sour if shoppers don't fully understand the terms or assume the ink will keep working after they cancel the subscription.

And again, it's hard to be anti-waste with a system like this. When supplies are tied to account status instead of simply being used until empty, usable materials can be pushed aside. That kind of friction can encourage people to keep paying for services they do not want or avoid home printing altogether.

What are people saying?

One Reddit user gave a couple of workarounds that might help you still use your ink cartridges if you're in the same boat.

"I was just planning to get a printer next week for school and other assorted needs," another person said. "Thank you for reminding me to never buy an HP printer."

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