If your company is still buying printers one at a time, managing supplies manually, and relying on whoever's available to fix jammed machines, you're stuck in a print model that hasn't changed since flip phones were cool.
And guess what? That outdated approach is draining more than just your ink.
It’s draining your time, budget, IT support, and security—and it’s doing it quietly, behind the scenes, while you’re focused on bigger tech decisions.
Think about it: When was the last time you questioned how much that $299 office printer was actually costing you?
The Ownership Illusion: “But We Already Own Our Printers…”
We hear this constantly: “We don’t need help with printing; we already own our devices.”
Cool. You own them. But do you control them?
Let’s use a car analogy. Owning a car doesn’t mean it’s efficient. If it breaks down every month, guzzles gas, and needs a special kind of oil you can’t find, is it still a wise investment?
Printers are no different.
Just because the devices are “paid for” doesn’t mean they’re not costing you more than a new, fully managed solution. Here’s what traditional ownership often blinds you to:
- Ongoing supply costs: Toner and ink bought ad hoc are always more expensive.
- IT support time: Your IT staff should be solving cybersecurity challenges, not unjamming a color laser printer.
- Lack of usage visibility: If you don’t track who’s printing what, how do you manage volume, cost, or waste?
Owning a printer without a strategy is like owning a treadmill that doubles as a coat rack. You have it, but it's not doing what you paid for.
What Unmanaged (or Transactional) Printing Really Looks Like
Buying printers like office supplies—one here, one there—might seem harmless. But in reality, it’s operational sabotage.
Unmanaged printing is full of hidden friction points:
- No standard devices = no standard training or troubleshooting.
- Manual supply reordering = frantic toner runs when it’s already too late.
- Setup takes forever because every model is different.
- Different brands mean different toner types, and they’re rarely compatible.
- No centralized tracking = no idea who’s printing 500 pages of cat photos (yes, it happens).
When your printers aren’t managed, they’re not optimized. And when they’re not optimized, they’re just quietly bleeding your budget.
The Hidden Security Threat Lurking in Your Breakroom
Most companies overlook this: your printers are connected to your network, which means they’re potential targets for hackers, especially if they’re unmanaged.
Let that sink in.
That cheap toner cartridge from an unknown supplier might contain a chip communicating with your printer. If tampered with, that chip could open the door to serious threats.
According to HP’s print security research, print devices are one of the most overlooked endpoints in corporate cybersecurity. Yet firmware vulnerabilities, unencrypted data, and supply chain risks all originate here.
A real example: a company bought refurbished printers from a secondary market. They seemed fine until random print jobs started spewing out. Those devices had never been wiped clean, and they were quietly logging data.
Can you confidently say where every toner cartridge and print device in your office came from? If not, your breakroom printer might be your weakest cybersecurity link.
The Silent Drain on Your IT Team
“You’re paying skilled IT staff to babysit a $299 printer.”
Read that again.
This is one of the most significant hidden costs of unmanaged printing: labor. Even low-end printers still need:
- Firmware updates
- Toner monitoring
- Jam clearing
- Driver setup
- User troubleshooting
And when something goes wrong, who’s usually called first? The IT team. Not because they’re the right people, but because they’re the only people.
We’ve seen small companies spend 15% of their IT time on print-related tasks. Now imagine that at scale. If your tech experts spend hours on low-value fixes, what critical projects are being delayed?
How Smart Companies Handle Printing Today
The best-run companies no longer see printing as a buy-and-forget transaction. Instead, they treat it like every other strategic tech investment, with visibility, control, and service baked in.
Here’s what that looks like:
- Standardized devices — so setup, support, and training are consistent.
- Secured endpoints — with firmware patching and monitored usage.
- OEM-only toner — for quality and security (no mystery chips!).
- Automated toner fulfillment — no more manual reordering.
- Centralized usage reports — so you actually know your print habits.
- Proactive support — before issues turn into chaos.
- Lifecycle management — including upgrades, trade-ins, and disposal.
This isn’t leasing vs. buying — it’s managing vs. ignoring. And the return is measurable.
To understand how this model works, explore: Are Managed Print Services Right For My Business?
Questions Every Business Should Be Asking Right Now
Are you asking the questions your business should be asking? Here’s a quick checklist to spark some helpful and strategic conversations:
- Are we tracking our print usage or just winging it?
- How much time is IT spending on printers each month?
- Are we using secure, OEM-certified toner?
- What’s the total cost of print support across all locations?
- Who’s responsible for supply management, setup, and disposal?
- Do we even need all the printers we currently own?
If you don’t have confident answers to these questions, you’re likely wasting money, time, and security.
Final Thoughts: It’s Not About the Printer, It’s About the Process
Still thinking, “But our printers work fine”? That’s like saying your 2005 flip phone still makes calls.
Just because it works doesn’t mean it’s working for you.
This isn’t about whether you should lease or buy. It’s not about the price tag on the printer. It’s about whether your print environment is managed or ignored.
Because every unmanaged printer is:
- A hidden cost center
- A risk to your data
- A time sink for your staff
So the real question isn’t “How much does a new printer cost?”
It’s “What’s the cost of doing nothing?”
Need help figuring out what your unmanaged printing is really costing you? Let’s start with a free print assessment by contacting us. No hard pitch, just answers.
