HP has launched a new initiative to try to recoup the drop in revenue in the printer sector.
The company will now offer a subscription-based paper delivery service to its Instant Ink subscribers as it looks for new revenue streams.
“We are now testing the paper delivery service for these customers, which is another key value proposition because if you print at home you have to buy paper [is] heavy, very painful, and we’re going to deliver that,” said Enrique Lores, HP’s chief executive, at the Cowan 50th Annual Technology, Media and Telecom Conference.
What’s behind the movement?
The latest move aims to replace some of the lost revenue that the printing giant, which traditionally earned high revenue from ink sales, lost in the current climate of hybrid working.
“The amount of office printing will be about 80% of what we were projecting before the pandemic started,” added Lores.
HP has been adopting a more subscription-based model for years.
The hardware giant raised prices for printers compatible with third-party inks and supplies in 2020 and instead opted for HP+, a cloud-based printing service that can include automatic deliveries of supplies to users.
In late 2021, HP decided to end its popular “free ink for life” plan, which allowed its customers to print up to 15 pages per month, and it also increased the price of the Instant Ink subscription service (potentially up to 50 % in some cases) in March 2022.
It’s unclear whether HP’s efforts to reinvent itself are still paying dividends, as the company is “losing money on about 25%” of its customers, according to The register conference report.
Like many other companies, the company has been impacted by the global issues that are affecting supply chains.
HP inkjet printers and laser printers are popular around the world, and the company reportedly sacrificed about $1 billion in sales by exiting the Russian and Belarusian markets.
The future of the office printer world may not be guaranteed, but that hasn’t stopped legendary investor Warren Buffet from recently touting a substantial stake in the company, buying about 121 million shares, or 11%, of the computing giant.
Through The register (opens in new tab)