Instant Ink Subscription Model

Instant Ink upended the business model for printing supplies. Instead of buying ink cartridges piecemeal, customers could select a subscription plan based on how much printing they planned to do per month or year, and Hewlett-Packard would keep them supplied with ink continuously. Smart ink cartridges would automatically report to the company when they were running low, and a replacement would arrive before its predecessor ran dry. The system eliminated trips to the office supply store, ensured a steady supply of ink and saved customers up to 50 percent on their printing costs.