Forget tablets—Hewlett-Packard clearly has—could the future of putting content in front of eyeballs be all about paper and ink? Roughly two months after killing off its webOS-based TouchPad tablet, HP on Wednesday touted a new partnership with Condé Nast "to explore a new digital content distribution medium that merges rich content and digital-to-print service" called HP Instant Ink.
The collaboration kicks off with a pilot subscription service that delivers replacement ink to HP printer owners in their homes or workplaces while another linked service pipes Condé Nast-branded digital content to be printed out on said Web-connected printers.
The tree is dead, long live the dead tree? HP is pushing "potential cost savings" on those oh-so-costly ink cartridges as the big deal-sweetener with HP Instant Ink. And just what do subscribers get?
"Users may receive up to 50 percent annual savings on ink cartridge purchases for one low monthly fee," according to HP. "Subscriptions for HP Instant Ink will be available from $5.99 to $10.99 per month depending on the product line, plus all cartridge shipping is included."
Meanwhile, Condé Nast On-Demand Content lets subscribers schedule the delivery of content to their personal and work printers from such Condé Nast-owned titles as Allure, Details, Epicurious, Glamour, Golf Digest, Self, and Wired, according to HP.
"This project is one of the many ways Condé Nast is using emerging technology to engage consumers," said Julie Michalowski, a senior vice president in Condé Nast's Consumer Business Development unit, in a statement. "With this new HP pilot program, consumers will be able to have their favorite Condé Nast content at their fingertips."
HP is hoping HP Instant Ink and the pilot program with Condé Nast, which will initially be conducted through select retailers in the northeastern U.S., will show content publishers that pushing content to Web-connected printers is a good way to "reach readers more frequently than with print magazines and more tangibly than via email."
"Our work with Condé Nast creates a new channel for customers to access the content they want from some of their favorite publications," said Stephen Nigro, a senior vice president with the Inkjet and Web Solutions unit in HP's Imaging and Printing Group. "And, when coupled with our scheduled delivery service, allows customers to get the content they want, whenever they want it."
The two programs will be offered to consumers as trial services later this fall, HP said.
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