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HP Stops Selling Printers, Starts Selling Prints

Posted by Zonk on from the does-this-mean-i-get-a-free-printer dept.

An anonymous reader writes "HP has launched a new line of business printers but there's a big catch — you won't be able to buy one. For the first time in history, the company will make customers purchase printing services, rather than the product itself. At its biggest printer launch since the LaserJet in 1984, HP's new business-class Edgeline printers will only be available through a managed services contract. Pricing will be per page, depending on the quality of the printout. Edgeline technology is said to be so ink-efficient that if HP were to sell these printers, they would never match the money they make from consumables (cartridges etc) now."

4 of 346 comments (clear)

  1. So.... by Itninja · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ..why can't they just sell the printers and then charge like $1000 per cartridge? Don't they kind of follow that model now anyway (i.e. $150 dollar printer that needs $300 toner cartridge)?

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    I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
  2. That's why you don't buy HP by tkrotchko · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    If you print a lot of color and can afford it, get a color laser printer. It's significantly cheaper to operate than any ink jet.

    Regardless of your technology choice, don't purchase an HP.

    There are lots of excellent choices out there. I'm not sure why you'd choose HP.

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    You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
  3. Re:And this is.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    American "capitalism" is about as close to the capitalist ideal as soviet communism was to the communist ideal. That is to say, not very. For starters, america has ever stronger and further reaching patent and copyright monopoly laws - despite propagandists describing these as intellectual "property", they are antithetical to real free-market capitalism at least.

    And given America's current state, it's painfully clear to an outside observer (I'm in the EU) that, no, American style capitalism doesn't work - America's heading for a fall, and it'll be a big one (the trick for us europeans would be not getting dragged down with you idiots).

  4. Seems a reasonable thing to do by Bassman59 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    As usual, the /. crowd knows nothing of which they speak, yet they shoot their mouths off anyways.

    Seems to me that this sort of lease/service agreement is exactly what many medium and large businesses want, and already do for other large items (vehicles, etc).

    Consider:

    • Why buy something that depreciates when it can be leased? The cost of the lease is a business expense and simply written off. No depreciation schedules, etc.
    • When the service agreement contract term expires, the business has the option of renewing for another term with the same printer, or replacing the printer with a newer model. Then, the onus is on HP to deal with the disposal of the old printer (can you say "RoHS?" I knew you could), not the business, who'd otherwise have to pay someone to get rid of the old printer, or pay to keep it in storage, or whatever.