This is making me more inclined to switch to a (non-HP) color laser printer, but I'm finding it challenging to find reputable information about total cost of ownership. Would love some suggestions!
Instant Ink is a great program that got ruined by morons that think they're geniuses.
It's so frequent to see people that paid for a month of Instant Ink, cancelled their sub after getting their cartridges, and then got a Surprised Pikachu face when their Instant Ink cartridges won't work after that. Then they post to reddit crying about how HP won't let them use the ink that they paid for without a subscription.
They think they're geniuses for figuring out how to game the system. Pay $5 for a month, get cartridges, cancel, and you'll end up with a full set of cartridges for only $5! Do they really think HP would let them get away with that?
HP makes it clear: When you subscribe to Instant Ink, you're not paying for ink, you're paying for a quota of printed pages. The ink cartridges are nothing more than a vehicle to provide those printed pages. You never own the ink!