Last week in a CNBC interview, we got to hear the thoughts of HP’s CEO, Enrique Lores, on HP’s practice of “bricking” printers with so-called “security” updates when non-genuine HP cartridges are detected. printing
When asked about his thoughts on the matter, he said that HP is protecting its IP, which is understandable given how much money is spent developing it. The other reason HP does it, he said, is because apparently, non-genuine cartridges can spread malware.
On the surface this sounds feasible – malware bad – but it begs the question, “How bad are HP’s security capabilities if they can’t secure their printers against compromise?”. Completely preventing a printer from working to stop a potential malware infection seems a bit of an overreaction.
Printers bad, supplies good
As the interview progressed, the real truth came out: he eventually said that HP “…loses money on the hardware, makes money on the supplies”, and that it’s a “bad investment” for them if they sell a printer to a customer (which he claims is sold at a loss) and the customer then doesn’t print enough or doesn’t use Genuine HP supplies.
What he admitted is that their printing revenue model doesn’t work if people use third-party ink cartridges. This is why HP’s aim for years now (by Lores’ admission) has been to “…reduce the number of unprofitable customers”. Following printer firmware updates from 2022 and 2023 for certain models, bricking printers that don’t use expensive Genuine HP cartridges is how they have gone about doing that.
It’s little wonder there’s a Class Action lawsuit about it in the US, brought by people who don’t like this idea. Whether it’ll change anything is anyone’s guess, of course.
They Want You On An Ink Subscription
Ultimately, what Mr. Lores wants, is for people to switch to an “ink subscription”, whereby they pay a monthly fee for all of their printing needs. HP has long been pushing in this direction with its “Instant Ink” program in the US.
Sadly, The South African version is a lot more tame and is more like a personal shopper who will go and buy your ink for you than a monthly subscription fee to have all your printing needs met.
Subscriptions=A 20% Uplift
HP’s American CFO, Marie Myers, said to investors at the UBS Global Technology conference last year (as reported by The Register): “We absolutely see when you move a customer from that pure transactional model… whether it’s Instant Ink, plus adding on that paper, we sort of see a 20 percent uplift on the value of that customer because you’re locking that person, committing to a longer-term relationship.”
SHP deliberately wants to lock you into an expensive printing ecosystem, and it’s not an accident. It’s their actual strategy to ‘Create Value For Their Shareholders’. How lovely.
Key Takeaways
- HP considers you a “bad investment” if you buy an HP printer and then don’t print enough or if you try to save a few bucks by using 3rd-party ink cartridges.
- If you don’t use Genuine HP cartridges and run updates on your printer, your printer could stop working entirely and there’s nothing you can do about it.
- HP’s solution is to push people towards a subscription model for their printing needs.
HP’s approach leaves a lot to be desired.
Printing Sucks
Printing sucks even when companies aren’t out to screw you lock you into their ecosystem for the sake of their profits. Here’s why:
- Inkjet printing is expensive (plus your printer might not print black & white text documents if it’s out of magenta)
- Ink tanks are messy (but they do produce more prints than cartridge-based printers at a lower per-page cost)
- Laser printers print really sharp documents (but they’re pricy)
- Renting a printer from a managed service provider to save yourself the hassle of maintaining it costs more money in the long run (even if the up-front costs are lower).
The choice businesses that need to print are left with is less “which one should I choose” and more “which poison would I like to drink?”.
If any of you have suggestions on the best way to approach business or home office printing, we’re all ears. Right now, all of the options available seem to suck eggs.
[Image: AI-generated by Adobe PhotoShop Beta]