Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) recently disclosed a new alliance with leading Internet retailer company and a provider of office products, Staples Inc. (SPLS). As per the agreement, Staples will be able to sell HP’s Instant Ink replacement service to customers in the U.S.

HP Instant Ink is a program installed on specific printers that can calculate when printer ink is running low and automatically order for a fresh supply of original H-P ink, which is then delivered to the registered address.

Customers can claim 50% savings provided they sign up for the 12-month HP Instant Ink service plan and use the requisite number of pages under the plan.

The service is important for Hewlett-Packard because it is a way to acquire repeat customers and seeing that they don’t move to outside vendors.

This agreement expands the reach of H-P products while also adding to Staple’s overall product spread. This new partnership will prove beneficial to both dealers and customers. Dealers will be able to avail discounts, which will be transferred to end customers.

With computing going mobile and moving to the cloud, the security needs of corporate networks are also changing. H-P’s printing solutions are designed to address these evolving needs.

Priced at just $99.99, Staples will help to accelerate the sales of HP Instant Ink-enabled printers in the digital printing market. The available products include Officejet Pro 6830, 8610, 8620, and 8630, the Officejet 4630, 5740, and 8040, and the ENVY 4500, 5530, 5660 and 7640. We believe that the successful distribution of the HP Officejet Pro inkjet printers will boost the company’s revenues, going forward.

H-P’s printing revenues were down 5.1% year over year to $5.74 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014. We believe that H-P can revive the business and have a bigger share in the inkjet printer market with these new offerings.

Additionally, the company’s traction in the cloud, security and big data segments are positives, going forward. The company’s strategic focus on the software business will help it to achieve long-term profitability.

Nonetheless, macroeconomic challenges and tepid IT spending remain near-term concerns. Competition from International Business Machines (IBM) and Oracle (ORCL) should also not be discounted.

Hewlett-Packard has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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