HP CEO: Printed pages are down 20% since pandemic
(2024/06/07)
- Reference: 1717749013
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/06/07/hp_ceo_printed_pages/
- Source link:
Fewer and fewer pages are being printed at home and in the office, posing something of a challenge for HP and its rivals.
Talking at Bernstein's 40th Annual Strategic Decision Conference late last week, HP boss Enrique Lores acknowledged the pressures facing the print division, saying the number of printed pages has dropped by a fifth.
HP customers claim firmware update rendered third-party ink verboten [1]READ MORE
"On the office space, clearly, the amount of pages that is being printed is lower than before the pandemic," he told tech investors. "And this is really driven by what we call hybrid work. There are less people in the office every day, and this has driven the amount of pages down.
"I use pages as a proxy because, depending on what happens with pages, happens eventually with devices. Before the pandemic, our estimates were that we were expecting to see a 20 percent reduction of printing. And actually, we were looking at the numbers ... and this is more or less where we are."
In terms of users printing at home, "during the pandemic, we saw a spike of pages printed, and since then, the number of pages has been declining," Lores added. The levels are not unexpected, though, he said.
[2]
The industrial customer base was "impacted during the last two or three years by a reduction of capital investments," but recovery is showing up, with those customers printing more labels and packaging.
[3]
[4]
Previous research by IDC showed around [5]450 billion fewer pages were printed in homes and office worldwide in 2020 versus the year before the pandemic, equating to a 19 percent plunge. It merely accelerated the long-term trend.
HP can't force customers to print more – the cost of doing so both financially and in terms of the environment are contributing factors. Yet over the [6]past four and a half years the vendor has tried to [7]maximize supplies revenue and therefore profits by [8]pushing more customers into subscriptions and selling printers pre-loaded with ink.
[9]
The inescapable fact is that HP print hardware revenue has slumped for nine quarters in a row and this has a downstream impact on supplies sales, which have shrunk for four consecutive quarters.
Lores said HP estimates printer hardware sales will continue to decline by low to middle digits. This is not helped by customers sweating their assets for longer.
"Something we are starting to notice is, as hardware sales have been declining, also the life of printers is being extended. And we are trying to quantify exactly how much is this," he told the audience.
[10]Can AI shorten PC replacement cycles? Dell seems to think so
[11]HP CEO pay for 2023 = 270,315 printer cartridges
[12]HP exec says quiet part out loud when it comes to locking in print customers
[13]Printer ink seven times more expensive than Dom Perignon
On the positive side for HP and its investor community, HP has spent time [14]reducing work with less profitable customers , has a healthy share of the supplies market, and anticipates inflation in ink prices.
"One metric we have shared is the combination of HP+ big ink and big toner is about 50 percent of our shipments ... And we have been growing the number of subscribers and the amount of subscriptions that we offer, and we have now more than 13 million subscribers."
[15]
HP now has the three subscriptions: One to ink and toner, [16]paper , and this year launched [17]an all-in-one service that also includes the printer. ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/09/hp_class_action_ink/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/05/idc_pages_printed_in_2020/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/09/hp_supplies/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/19/hps_ceo_spells_it_out/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/hp_printer_lockin/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/13/dell_exec_reckons_aipowered_laptops/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/hp_ceo_pay_for_2023/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/hp_printer_lockin/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2003/07/04/printer_ink_seven_times_more/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/26/hp_says_its_cutting_back/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/09/hp_pilots_paper_delivery_service/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/07/hp_ink_addicts/
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Talking at Bernstein's 40th Annual Strategic Decision Conference late last week, HP boss Enrique Lores acknowledged the pressures facing the print division, saying the number of printed pages has dropped by a fifth.
HP customers claim firmware update rendered third-party ink verboten [1]READ MORE
"On the office space, clearly, the amount of pages that is being printed is lower than before the pandemic," he told tech investors. "And this is really driven by what we call hybrid work. There are less people in the office every day, and this has driven the amount of pages down.
"I use pages as a proxy because, depending on what happens with pages, happens eventually with devices. Before the pandemic, our estimates were that we were expecting to see a 20 percent reduction of printing. And actually, we were looking at the numbers ... and this is more or less where we are."
In terms of users printing at home, "during the pandemic, we saw a spike of pages printed, and since then, the number of pages has been declining," Lores added. The levels are not unexpected, though, he said.
[2]
The industrial customer base was "impacted during the last two or three years by a reduction of capital investments," but recovery is showing up, with those customers printing more labels and packaging.
[3]
[4]
Previous research by IDC showed around [5]450 billion fewer pages were printed in homes and office worldwide in 2020 versus the year before the pandemic, equating to a 19 percent plunge. It merely accelerated the long-term trend.
HP can't force customers to print more – the cost of doing so both financially and in terms of the environment are contributing factors. Yet over the [6]past four and a half years the vendor has tried to [7]maximize supplies revenue and therefore profits by [8]pushing more customers into subscriptions and selling printers pre-loaded with ink.
[9]
The inescapable fact is that HP print hardware revenue has slumped for nine quarters in a row and this has a downstream impact on supplies sales, which have shrunk for four consecutive quarters.
Lores said HP estimates printer hardware sales will continue to decline by low to middle digits. This is not helped by customers sweating their assets for longer.
"Something we are starting to notice is, as hardware sales have been declining, also the life of printers is being extended. And we are trying to quantify exactly how much is this," he told the audience.
[10]Can AI shorten PC replacement cycles? Dell seems to think so
[11]HP CEO pay for 2023 = 270,315 printer cartridges
[12]HP exec says quiet part out loud when it comes to locking in print customers
[13]Printer ink seven times more expensive than Dom Perignon
On the positive side for HP and its investor community, HP has spent time [14]reducing work with less profitable customers , has a healthy share of the supplies market, and anticipates inflation in ink prices.
"One metric we have shared is the combination of HP+ big ink and big toner is about 50 percent of our shipments ... And we have been growing the number of subscribers and the amount of subscriptions that we offer, and we have now more than 13 million subscribers."
[15]
HP now has the three subscriptions: One to ink and toner, [16]paper , and this year launched [17]an all-in-one service that also includes the printer. ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/09/hp_class_action_ink/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/05/idc_pages_printed_in_2020/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2019/10/09/hp_supplies/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/19/hps_ceo_spells_it_out/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/hp_printer_lockin/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/13/dell_exec_reckons_aipowered_laptops/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/hp_ceo_pay_for_2023/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/hp_printer_lockin/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2003/07/04/printer_ink_seven_times_more/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/26/hp_says_its_cutting_back/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZmLaQqwe9IT7lpu-sIHHCAAAAIY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/09/hp_pilots_paper_delivery_service/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/07/hp_ink_addicts/
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"450 billion fewer pages"
Pascal Monett
So, basically you're telling me that we used to print over two trillion pages a year ?
Holy fucking shit. How many trees do we kill for that ?
Re: "450 billion fewer pages"
Doctor Syntax
As trees for paper are just a crop with a rather longer life cycle than wheat or the like the appropriate quesion is "How many trees did we grow?"
Re: "450 billion fewer pages"
Like a badger
"How many trees do we kill for that ?"
200 million, using 10k pages per typical pine tree:
https://ribble-pack.co.uk/blog/much-paper-comes-one-tree
But bear in mind that 200m is a gross equivalent value before the effect of recycling which varies by region. Also worth noting that most of the wood for office paper comes from fast growing, farmed trees that don't use fertiliser or anything other than rain water, often are only suitable for uses like paper making, and grown in locations that have no more valuable use.
"sales have been declining, also the life of printers is being extended"
Andy Non
What HP need to do is put a hardware expiry date into the printer's firmware. "Sorry, cannot print, for best results you need to buy a new HP printer."
Serves them right, after all they're vampires
s. pam
HP deserveth what HP wrought -- £/$/ €milk punters, don't let them use 3rd party product, whack them repeatedly and customers walk.
Funny NO other printer companies are complaining!
Old HP
The Insuranator
In 2000 years time, when humanity has departed the planet for a new home, my HP LaserJet 2100TN will still be going.
No surprise there then
HP will do what HP does in these cases, paint itself into a corner.
They'll EOL supplies for more printers and make those very printers refuse to take 3rd party inks etc by applying software updates in the background and without the customer being able to say NO.
They've already tried this but IMHO, that was just dabbling their corporate and very putrid toes in the water.
The replacements will be so locked down that 3rd party companies even thinking of making inks/toners etc will be hit by mega, mega sized lawsuits.
That in turn will make customers think long and hard about buying anything from any company flogging HP branded kit.
Revenue will be down and we will see more of the same in a rinse and repeat operation.