The true cost of printer setup: is it really possible to eliminate waste?

Across industries, one operational task continues to drain IT resources more than expected: deploying and maintaining printers. While printing remains essential, the setup process behind it often belongs to the previous decade. Many IT teams still manage 50 to 300 queues manually, rebuild mappings after OS updates, repackage drivers, and maintain scripts or GPOs that were never designed for modern, distributed workplaces.

The financial impact is far deeper than most executives realize. Research shows that for every $1 spent on printing, organizations spend between $9 and $15 managing their print environment; most of it tied to IT labor, troubleshooting, and operational overhead. In large fleets, inefficient deployment models can cost up to $50,000 per year for every 100 printers, simply due to repetitive administration and the complexity of keeping everything consistent and secure.  

Now imagine a different reality. A world where deploying printers no longer requires scripting expertise or hours of manual configuration. Where the right queues appear automatically based on location, network segment, or user role. Where OS updates don’t break mappings, logins aren’t slowed by queue installations, and BYOD connections don’t require IT support ticket. A world in which mass deployment becomes routine rather than disruptive.  

In such an environment, printer setup would transform from a recurring burden into a streamlined, predictable workflow that supports organizational growth instead of slowing it down. It could mean: 

• Deploying hundreds of printers in minutes instead of days 
• Capturing drivers once and reusing them across entire organizations 
• Rolling out new buildings, campuses, or branches with minimal effort 
• Reducing support tickets caused by broken queues or outdated drivers 

Organizations would eliminate unnecessary overhead, strengthen security, and accelerate rollout cycles across multiple sites. And professionals responsible for delivering deployments at scale (especially those managing several customer environments), would finally gain a more efficient, repeatable, and cost-effective way to work.  

While the industry hasn’t fully solved these challenges yet, there is already a lot that IT teams and service providers can do today, such as: standardizing driver versions, streamlining queue structures, consolidating direct queues, and using centralized print management tools can dramatically reduce chaos. Partners who develop consistent deployment templates, preconfigured driver packages, and structured onboarding workflows often report shorter project timelines and fewer post-installation tickets.  

These best practices won’t eliminate every complexity, but they help organizations build secure infrastructures, deploy faster, and deliver better user experiences.  

The shift toward smarter, more automated printing environments is well underway, and those who strengthen their foundations now will be best positioned for what comes next. 

More insights are coming soon. Stay tuned.