@Chuck: I think HP did it that way because Sprinter is an add-in. What you need to do is download it locally at your customer site, and once installed on your client machines, just keep an eye out occasionally for new patches for it via HELP -> ADD-INS PAGE ... (which takes you back to HP's website) - all the add-ins are posted on their website, but there's nothing stopping you from downloading them locally and giving them to your support teams :).
Let me know if this addresses your concern/question.