The Hidden Costs of Your New Printer

My new printer will keep track of how many pages I print per month and send me new ink accordingly. Sounded like a good idea, right?

Here's what's actually happening:

1. Ownership has been replaced by permission.

In order to provide the above, your subscription-based printer must perform the following: It has to check your ink usage, phone home, authenticate, verify your subscription, charge your credit card and send you the new ink.

Turn the printer off?

It complains.

Disconnect it from the internet?

It refuses to print.

Try a different type of identical-yet-cheaper ink?

It can record this and void your warranty.

Miss a payment?

The printer may stop working, even if there's ink and paper physically inside it.

With subscription-based printing, you don't even have to break anything anymore, you just violated its rules.

2. Subscription printers require constant compliance.

Most subscription-based printers expect:

• approved usage patterns
• approved ink cartridges
• always-on internet
• always-on power

Change your Wi-Fi provider?

Travel for a bit?

Don't print for a while?

Suddenly the printer needs "attention."

Which usually means:

• demanding updates
• running cleaning cycles
• printing ink-heavy test pages
• or simply refusing to cooperate

It's excellent at printing diagnostics.

It's unreliable at printing the thing you actually need.

3. The printer now works for the company, not you.

The printer's primary job is no longer "print documents." It's job is now to:

• protect revenue models
• track usage
• enforce subscriptions

Printing comes second.

That's why it feels hostile. Because it kind of is.

Avoid the trap.

If you print occasionally, you don't need a device that requires obedience.

Upload your file. We print it. It gets mailed. You move on. Have it Printed!