Top Reasons Why an Office Printer Lease Is Better Than Buying in 2025

In 2025, the way businesses manage office equipment has completely shifted. More companies—small startups, mid-sized firms, and even large enterprises—are choosing to lease their printers instead of buying them outright. The phrase “office printer lease” is now one of the most searched terms by office managers and CFOs for good reason.

If you’re still wondering whether you should buy or lease your next office printer, here are the top reasons why an office printer lease is almost always the smarter choice in 2025.

1. Lower Upfront Costs = Immediate Cash Flow Savings

Buying a high-quality multifunction printer (MFP) for a medium-sized office can easily cost $5,000–$25,000 or more. For growing businesses, dropping that much money in one shot hurts.

With an office printer lease, you typically pay little to nothing upfront. Most leasing agreements in 2025 require only the first month’s payment and a small documentation fee. That means you get enterprise-grade printing, scanning, and copying capabilities without draining your working capital.

Real-world example: A 50-person marketing agency in Chicago switched from buying to an office printer lease in early 2025. They saved $18,000 in upfront costs and used that money to hire two new designers instead.

2. Predictable Monthly Expenses (Perfect for Budgeting)

When you own a printer, costs are unpredictable. One month you’re fine, the next month a fuser unit fails and you’re hit with a $3,500 repair bill.

An office printer lease usually includes service, maintenance, toner, and parts in one fixed monthly payment (often called “cost-per-page” or “all-inclusive” leasing). You know exactly what you’ll pay every month—no surprises.

In 2025, average cost-per-page leases range from 0.8¢ to 2.5¢ for black-and-white and 6¢ to 12¢ for color, depending on volume. Compare that to owning, where toner alone can cost hundreds per cartridge and service calls add up fast.

3. Always Have the Latest Technology

Printer technology moves fast. In 2025, we’re seeing:

• AI-powered predictive maintenance that orders toner before you run out

• Zero-trust security features built into firmware

• Native cloud printing and mobile workflow integration

• Energy-efficient models that cut power usage by up to 60%

When you buy a printer, you’re stuck with that model for 5–7 years. By year three, it’s already outdated.

With an office printer lease, you typically upgrade every 36–60 months at no extra cost. Many 2025 leases now include “technology refresh” clauses that let you swap to newer models even sooner if major advancements launch.

4. Built-in Maintenance and Support

Printer breakdowns are one of the biggest office frustrations. When you own the machine, every service call is an extra expense and downtime kills productivity.

Almost every reputable office printer lease in 2025 includes:

• Automatic toner delivery

• Next-business-day (or even same-day) onsite service

• Loaner machines if repairs take longer

• Remote monitoring that fixes many issues before you notice them

In short: someone else worries about the printer so you don’t have to.

5. Tax Advantages That Actually Matter

The tax argument used to be complicated, but Section 179 and bonus depreciation rules in 2025 still favor leasing for most businesses.

When you lease:

• 100% of your lease payments are typically tax-deductible as an operating expense

• No depreciation schedules to track

• Simpler accounting (one line item instead of capital asset management)

Talk to any CPA in 2025 and they’ll tell you: for most small and medium businesses, an office printer lease is the cleaner, more advantageous route.

6. Scalability—Grow or Shrink Without Pain

Businesses change fast. You might sign a lease for 10,000 pages per month, then land a huge client and suddenly need 50,000 pages.

Good office printer lease agreements in 2025 are flexible. Most providers let you:

• Upgrade/downgrade equipment mid-term

• Adjust page volumes annually (or even quarterly)

• Add extra machines as you open new offices

If business slows down, you can downsize without being stuck with equipment you paid for but no longer need.

7. Better Security and Compliance

Cybersecurity is non-negotiable in 2025. Older owned printers are common entry points for attacks because they rarely receive firmware updates after 3–4 years.

Leased printers under an active office printer lease receive:

• Automatic firmware and security updates

• Hard drive overwriting and encryption features

• User authentication and pull-printing to prevent sensitive documents sitting in trays

Many industries (healthcare, legal, finance) now require these features for compliance. Leasing keeps you automatically compliant.

8. Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

Environmental responsibility is a boardroom topic in 2025. Companies face pressure from employees, customers, and investors to reduce waste.

Leasing companies take back equipment at the end of the term and either:

• Refurbish and redeploy (extending product life)

• Recycle responsibly through certified programs

When you buy, that old printer usually ends up in a storage room or landfill. Most office printer lease providers now include detailed ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) reports showing exactly how many pounds of e-waste they kept out of landfills because of your lease.

9. No Obsolescence Risk

Remember when everyone rushed to buy laser printers during the 2020–2022 supply crunch? Many paid double the normal price only to watch values crash in 2023–2024.

With an office printer lease, you’re never stuck holding depreciating assets. The leasing company assumes the residual value risk—not you.

10. Free Up IT Team for Real Work

IT departments are overwhelmed in 2025. Managing printer fleets—driver updates, IP conflicts, toner inventory—is low-value busywork.

When you move to a managed office printer lease, the provider handles everything. Your IT team stops getting 50 tickets a week about “the printer on the 3rd floor isn’t working.”

11. Fair Market Value (FMV) Leases Give You Options at the End

The most popular lease type in 2025 is the FMV (Fair Market Value) lease. At the end of the term you have three great choices:

1. Return the equipment (walk away clean)

2. Buy it at current fair market value (usually 10–20% of original cost)

3. Renew the lease on new equipment

You’re never forced into anything.

12. Access to Enterprise-Grade Features at SMB Prices

Only the biggest companies used to afford features like:

• Follow-me printing across multiple offices

• OCR scanning directly into your CRM or ERP

• PIN/code release for confidential documents

In 2025, these come standard on most mid-range leased MFPs. An office printer lease levels the playing field—your 30-person firm gets the same tools as a Fortune 500 company.

Real Numbers: Lease vs Buy Comparison in 2025

Here’s a typical 5-year scenario for a mid-sized office printing 25,000 black-and-white and 5,000 color pages per month:

Expense	Buy Outright	Office Printer Lease
Upfront cost	$18,000	$0–$500
Monthly payment	$0 (but see below)	$649 (all-inclusive)
Toner (5 years)	$28,000	Included
Maintenance & repairs	$12,000–$18,000	Included
Total 5-year cost	$58,000–$64,000	$38,940
Equipment at end	Worth ~$1,500	Return or upgrade

Even after adjusting for the time value of money, leasing wins by a wide margin for most businesses.

Who Should Still Buy Instead of Lease?

Very few situations justify buying in 2025:

• You have extremely low print volumes (<2,000 pages/month)

• You have in-house technicians who love maintaining printers

• Your company policy strictly prohibits operating leases

For 95%+ of businesses, an office printer lease is the clear winner.

Final Thoughts: 2025 Is the Year to Stop Owning Printers

The old mindset of “we buy everything we use” no longer makes sense for office technology. Cars, phones, software, and now printers—all have moved to smarter consumption models.

Choosing an office printer lease in 2025 gives you:

• Better cash flow

• Newer technology

• Zero headaches

• Lower total cost

• Flexibility to grow

If your current printers are over three years old, or you’re facing a big repair bill, now is the perfect time to explore leasing. Most providers offer free print audits and will show you exactly how much you’ll save.

The question in 2025 isn’t “Should we lease or buy?” It’s “Why are we still owning printers at all?”

Make the switch to an office printer lease this year. Your budget, your IT team, and your employees will thank you.