How Many Printers Does Your Business Actually Need?

The short answer: your business needs enough printers to handle peak demand, different locations, specialist output and an acceptable level of downtime—but no more.

There is no reliable “one printer for every X employees” rule. A 30-person professional services firm operating from one floor may work efficiently with one well-specified multifunction printer. A 12-person construction or design business might need several devices because it prints plans, invoices, colour presentations and wide-format documents.

The correct number depends on how your team works, not just how many people it employs.

Why the number of printers matters

Too many printers create avoidable costs:

• More equipment payments or capital tied up in devices
• Multiple toner and consumable types
• Additional service and maintenance requirements
• Higher energy consumption
• More network endpoints to manage and secure
• Underused devices that still need administration
• Inconsistent user experiences and print quality

Too few printers can be equally expensive:

• Queues during busy periods
• Staff walking long distances to collect documents
• Work stopping when one device needs service
• High-volume jobs delaying everyday printing
• Increased pressure on a single machine
• Confidential documents being sent to unsuitable locations
• Employees relying on inefficient workarounds

The objective is not to minimise the number of printers at any cost. It is to create the smallest practical fleet that supports productivity, security and business continuity.

Printer requirements at a glance

Start with print demand—not employee numbers

Employee numbers are easy to measure, which is why printer-to-employee ratios are often used. Unfortunately, they can be misleading.

Two businesses with 25 employees may have completely different requirements.

One may operate primarily through cloud systems and print a small number of contracts each week. The other may produce customer packs, construction drawings, invoices, delivery records and training manuals throughout the day.

A useful printer assessment should establish:

• Total black-and-white pages
• Total colour pages
• Pages produced by each device
• Scanning volumes
• A3 and specialist media requirements
• Peak daily and weekly periods
• Seasonal changes
• Departments producing the most output
• Jobs that must be completed without delay

Where possible, collect at least three months of meter readings. A longer period will provide a more representative picture for organisations with seasonal workloads.

KMBE’s real-time fleet monitoring can provide device-level information on print activity, consumables, meter readings and maintenance requirements.

Seven factors that determine how many printers you need

1. Actual print and scan volume

Begin by measuring how much work each existing device performs.

A device that produces very few pages may be unnecessary—or it may serve an important specialist, security or continuity function. A heavily used device may need to be upgraded, supported by another machine or relieved of specialist work.

Do not evaluate page counts in isolation. Consider whether the printer is being used because it is the best option or merely because it is the closest one.

2. Peak demand

Monthly averages can hide operational problems.

A business might have modest total volume but experience heavy demand at 8:30am, at month-end or before customer deadlines. If multiple employees regularly need the same printer at once, queues can form even when monthly usage appears low.

The assessment should therefore consider:

• Peak pages per hour
• Number of simultaneous users
• Large recurring jobs
• Month-end and seasonal demand
• Time-sensitive customer documents

A device’s advertised pages-per-minute speed is not the same as real-world throughput. Processing, warm-up, finishing, paper changes and mixed document types all affect productivity.

3. Office layout and walking distance

One central printer may look efficient on a spreadsheet but become disruptive if employees are spread across several floors, buildings or work zones.

Map where employees work and where documents are needed. Consider:

• Stairs and lifts
• Separate departments
• Warehouses or workshops
• Customer-facing areas
• Accessibility requirements
• Staff carrying sensitive documents through shared spaces

The right solution may be one main multifunction printer supported by a smaller local device in a distant or operationally separate area.

4. Output requirements

Not every print job belongs on the same machine.

Your business may need a combination of:

• Everyday A4 black-and-white printing
• High-quality colour output
• A3 documents
• Booklets, stapling or folding
• Labels or specialised media
• Wide-format plans and drawings
• High-volume production runs
• Secure printing for confidential records

A specialist device should not automatically be treated as surplus simply because its page volume is lower. Its value may come from performing a task that the main office printer cannot complete.

KMBE supplies business printers, multifunction printers and wide-format printers for different output requirements.

5. Scanning and document workflows

The word “printer” can understate the role a modern multifunction device plays.

A business may use the same machine to:

• Scan invoices into an accounts workflow
• Send documents to cloud storage
• Digitise customer records
• Scan directly to email or a shared folder
• Apply document naming and routing rules
• Copy, collate and finish document sets

Replacing several printers with a multifunction device may reduce equipment numbers while improving document handling. However, it only works if scanning speed, feeder capacity, integrations and interface design suit the team.

KMBE’s business software solutions can help connect scanning with document storage and administrative workflows.

6. Security and privacy

A smaller fleet can be easier to secure because there are fewer network-connected devices, hard drives, user interfaces and print queues to manage.

However, excessive consolidation can cause employees to collect confidential documents from a busy shared area.

Consider whether teams handling payroll, legal, health, customer or commercially sensitive information need:

• User authentication
• PIN or card-based print release
• Encrypted storage or transmission
• Restricted scanning destinations
• Activity reporting
• Automatic deletion of stored jobs
• A device in a controlled-access area

Secure print release can sometimes allow several departments to share devices safely. Users submit a job centrally and release it only after authenticating at an approved printer.

7. Business continuity

Ask what happens if the busiest printer is unavailable.

If printing is merely convenient, waiting for a service technician may be acceptable. If printing is essential to dispatching products, serving customers, producing plans or completing regulated processes, backup capacity could be necessary.

Continuity does not always mean installing an identical second device. It might involve:

• A smaller secondary printer
• Two multifunction devices sharing the workload
• Redirecting jobs to another floor or location
• A clearly defined service response arrangement
• Remote monitoring that identifies issues before failure

KMBE provides local and nationwide printer servicing and support, including onsite technicians and remote assistance.

Illustrative fleet scenarios

These examples are starting points, not fixed recommendations.

A 12-person professional office

The business operates from one floor, prints mainly A4 documents and scans invoices and contracts.

One appropriately specified multifunction printer may meet its normal requirements. The decision should then focus on whether the business can tolerate downtime or needs access to a small secondary device.

A 40-person business across two floors

Employees print moderate volumes, while finance and management handle confidential material.

One shared multifunction printer in each main work zone may be more practical than several desktop printers. Secure print release could allow confidential jobs to be produced safely without dedicated departmental devices.

An architecture or construction company

The team produces everyday office documents, colour proposals and large-format plans.

The most efficient fleet might include one general multifunction printer and one wide-format device. The printer count is driven by different functions rather than employee numbers.

A multi-site retailer

Each location needs to print operational and customer documents.

A single company-wide employee ratio would be meaningless. Each site needs to be assessed according to local volume, opening hours, business continuity and access to support.

Signs your business may have too many printers

Your fleet may be larger than necessary if:

• Several devices perform the same function in the same area.
• Some printers have consistently low meter readings.
• Toner expires or accumulates before it can be used.
• Employees use the nearest printer rather than the most efficient one.
• The business stocks many different consumable types.
• Desktop printers have been added without a central plan.
• Devices remain under contract after departments or workflows have changed.
• Some printers are no longer receiving security or firmware support.

Low usage alone is not enough reason to remove a device. First confirm whether it serves an accessibility, security, specialist-output or contingency need.

Signs your business may have too few printers

Additional or upgraded capacity may be justified if:

• Employees regularly wait for large jobs to finish.
• One device experiences repeated periods of heavy demand.
• Staff frequently walk between floors or buildings.
• A fault brings an essential process to a halt.
• Specialist jobs block everyday office printing.
• Teams use unsuitable devices because the correct equipment is unavailable.
• Consumables are depleted faster than they can be replenished.
• The existing printer cannot support required scanning, finishing or security features.

In some situations, a faster or better-configured device can solve the problem without increasing the total printer count.

How to conduct a printer fleet assessment

Step 1: Identify every device

Include networked printers, multifunction devices, desktop printers, scanners, label printers and wide-format equipment. Record the make, model, age, location and contract status.

Step 2: Collect usage data

Gather meter readings for black-and-white, colour and scanning activity. Note recurring large jobs and peak periods.

Step 3: Map devices to business functions

Document who uses each machine, what they use it for and why that location matters.

Step 4: Calculate the full cost

Use more than equipment payments:

Annual fleet cost = purchase or finance + consumables + service + energy + administration + downtime

Also identify duplicated stock, unused toner and staff time spent ordering supplies or resolving faults.

Step 5: Identify overused and underused equipment

Look for devices carrying disproportionate workloads and machines providing little measurable value.

Step 6: Model a better configuration

Consider whether devices can be consolidated, upgraded, relocated or replaced. Test the proposed arrangement against peak demand, security, accessibility and downtime.

Step 7: Review after implementation

Continue monitoring the fleet after changes are made. Workloads evolve as teams grow, offices move and document processes become more digital.

Will reducing printer numbers always save money?

No. Removing underused devices can reduce finance, consumable and administration costs, but over-consolidation may create queues, increase walking time or make the business dependent on one machine.

The goal should be right-sizing, not simply reducing.

A successful right-sizing project should produce:

• Better utilisation of each device
• Fewer unnecessary models and consumable types
• Clearer service arrangements
• More predictable operating costs
• Appropriate backup capacity
• A consistent user experience
• Improved security and reporting

Frequently asked questions

What is the ideal number of employees per office printer?

There is no universal ratio. Print volumes, office layout, document types, security and acceptable downtime are more reliable measures than employee count.

Can one multifunction printer replace several desktop printers?

Often, yes. A suitable multifunction device can combine printing, copying and scanning while providing lower operating costs and stronger management features. The proposed device must still have enough capacity and be accessible to its users.

Does every floor need a printer?

Not automatically. Consider walking time, accessibility, print volume, document security and the effect of a device failure. Separate work zones may justify local equipment even when total page volumes are modest.

How often should a printer fleet be reviewed?

Review it at least annually and whenever the business changes location, staffing, workflows or security requirements. Continuous monitoring can identify changes earlier.

Can printer monitoring show whether we have too many devices?

Monitoring can show page volumes, usage patterns, supply consumption and service history. This provides strong evidence, but operational and security requirements must also be considered.

Is the cheapest printer fleet always the smallest one?

No. A fleet that is too small may increase queues, downtime and staff disruption. The best fleet balances equipment cost with productivity, risk and service requirements.

Find out what your business actually needs

KMBE can assess your existing devices, print volumes, locations and workflows before recommending a fleet configuration.

As an independent New Zealand-owned provider, we can compare equipment and service options around your organisation’s actual requirements—not an arbitrary employee-to-printer ratio.

Talk to KMBE about a printer fleet assessment.