A new ink flat-rate plan is now available

Hewlett-Packard's all-in plan (starting at $699/month) works much like its predecessor, Instant Ink Users select a plan based on the number of pages they want to print, and ink cartridges are automatically shipped when the printer is low on power The big new feature here is that the printer is included in the plan

Yes, that's right It's a novel proposition, especially for an industry that has been criticized for using the "razor model" (offering printers at a discount in order to lure customers into buying expensive ink known as "liquid gold" in the long run) But much has changed since then, and now all the major companies offer ink subscription services that promise to save money

With the upfront investment in purchasing a printer gone, HP has erased the first step in the purchasing decision Now all you have to do is pick a plan and start printing, and you don't have to spend hours researching the best printer to buy in the first place

Right now, however, there are not many printers to choose from in the all-in plans The selection is limited to three printers: the Envy 6020e, the Envy Inspire 7258e, and the OfficeJet Pro 9010e

The monthly fee depends on which of the three printer models you choose, and the more pages you print, the higher the fee; as with Instant Ink and other ink subscription plans, there is no distinction between black and white pages and color pages; pages are pages If you exceed your plan's allotment, a fee of $1 per set of 10-15 pages will be added to your monthly bill, depending on the plan Any shortfall will be carried over to the following month The maximum amount that can be carried over is three times the plan's allotment For example, a plan with 300 pages per month can carry over up to 900 pages

So far, so good With an ink subscription that automatically orders ink for you, you won't be in the predicament of having to drive to the store to buy cartridges The all-in plan allows you to purchase a printer with no initial investment and 24/7 technical support

All-in plans offer 24-hour live printer support If the problem cannot be resolved, HP will ship a replacement, possibly the next business day There is no charge for shipping or return shipping of the failed printer

The plan has a 30-day trial period; after two years, there is an option to upgrade to a new printer

Ultimately, the value of the all-in plan depends on how much you print and whether you value not having to purchase a printer Since the cost of a printer per page is calculated for two different standard pages, they cannot be directly compared However, it is still worth considering

When I reviewed the HP Envy 7955e with its high-yield ink cartridges, the estimated cost per page was 7 cents for text pages and 181 cents for color pages (slightly lower cost per page) Currently, the average cost per page for similar printers is 62 cents (text) and 159 cents (color) In contrast, ink tank printers and Brother models use very high-yield cartridges and average

Of course, the price difference between color and black ink disappears with subscription If you like to print with many colors, this could obviously be attractive This may be especially true if you print a lot

For example, for about the same cost as printing a text page on an Envy 7955e, you can get 300 color pages per month from an Envy (53 cents per page) or Envy Aspire (63 cents per page) printer without having to purchase a printer print 300 pages per month in color from an Envy Aspire (63 cents per page) printer without purchasing a printer

Not all tiers of the all-in plan look so attractive, however For example, the Lite plan with an Envy printer costs 35 cents per page However, if one expects a dramatic recovery in printing operations in the near future, upgrading to a 100-page per month plan would bring that cost down to 11 cents per page

When compared directly to Instant Ink, the all-in plans often read like a bargain For example, a moderate plan of 100 pages per month would allow a printer for an additional fee of only $4 per month At this rate, the $129 cost of the printer would not be recouped over 2 years and 8 months

However, allocating 300 pages per month would only cost $2299 for the all-in plan and OfficeJet Pro printer and $1399 for instant ink If you were to purchase a $289 OfficeJet Pro printer, you would recoup that investment in 2 years and 8 months, and save $9 per month in printing costs thereafter (assuming the printer continues to work without problems)

The lowest cost per page among inkjet printers are models that come with ink tanks or use very high-yield cartridges These models print thousands of pages before the ink runs out However, they also tend to be priced a bit higher The models we reviewed in this category averaged about $400 over the past four years Two recent examples: the $350 HP Smart Tank 7602 and the $230 Epson EcoTank ET-2850[Ink costs for these printers average just 04 cents for text pages and 15 cents for color pages This is a dramatic difference compared to the cost of a standard inkjet printer or an HP all-in plan

That is not to say, however, that the all-in plan is not worth serious consideration But you need to do the math (based on expected print output) and make sure your expectations are being met

For example, if you sign up for a medium plan of 100 pages per month on an HP Envy Inspire printer, you would pay $1299 per month or $15588 per year

By comparison, the Smart Tank 7602 requires an upfront payment of $350 If you print almost half text pages and half color pages, the ink cost to print the same number of pages (1,200) for a year would be approximately $72 at 06 cents per print run And there is still plenty of ink left in the tank

In summary, the cost of a moderate all-in plan with the Envy Inspire will break even in about two years and three months compared to buying a smart tank printer outright You would then pay $1299 per month for the plan or 6 cents per month to print This latter option, of course, does not include the plan's benefits, such as free printer replacement, 24/7 support, and automatic shipment of ink cartridges

This cost difference shrinks rapidly the more pages you print For example, Envy Aspire's 500-page plan costs $2599 per month or $31188 per year The break-even point is approximately 14 months Printing 500 pages with a Smart Tank would consume an estimated $3 per month in ink

Needless to say, in the world of inkjet printers, one size does not fit all I hope my back-of-the-napkin calculations have provided some useful information for comparison But cost per page is only one consideration; there's no denying the convenience of a plan like HP's All-In If you are a fan of ink subscriptions, the slight monthly price increase that includes the printer would be very attractive

Put another way, a plan that uses instant ink frequently (300 pages per month) costs 47 cents per page The all-in plan includes that level of Envy Printer at 57 cents per page or Envy Inspire at 63 cents per page

Many factors will influence this decision, including how your home office or business operates If you replace your printer frequently, you may welcome the removal of that recurring one-time expense An all-in plan offers some attractive costs per page while removing some of the guesswork and hassle of selecting a printer, troubleshooting the printer, and keeping supplies on hand If all of that is a no-brainer for you, then I guess you could say you are "all in"