The Main Types of Multifunction Printers

Not all MFPs are built alike. Choosing the wrong type is one of the most common and costly mistakes office managers make. Here are the major categories you will encounter.

Laser MFPs

Laser MFPs use a laser beam and toner powder to produce sharp, crisp text. They are the gold standard for high-volume office environments. Black-and-white laser MFPs typically cost 1 to 1.6 cents per page to operate, while color laser MFPs cost around 4 to 8 cents per page. If your office prints hundreds or thousands of pages per week, laser is almost certainly the right technology.

Inkjet MFPs

Inkjet MFPs spray microscopic droplets of liquid ink onto paper. They shine at photo-quality color printing and work well for lower-volume offices or creative teams. The tradeoff is higher per-page costs (often 5 to 20 cents for color) and ink heads that can dry out if the device sits idle for days. Business-grade inkjet MFPs from manufacturers like Epson WorkForce or Canon imagePROGRAF have narrowed the gap significantly.

Desktop vs. Floor-Standing MFPs

Desktop MFPs sit on a desk and are designed for individual or small team use, typically handling up to 20,000 pages per month. Floor-standing (or departmental) MFPs are larger units that support 50,000 to 300,000 monthly page volumes, multi-tray paper handling, finishers, and stapling. Most Pennsylvania businesses with 10 or more employees benefit from at least one floor-standing unit.

Production MFPs

Production MFPs are high-speed, high-volume workhorses built for print shops, universities, and large corporate print rooms. Monthly volumes can exceed 1 million pages. If you are comparing production printers vs. office printers, the operational and cost differences are significant.

How Much Does an MFP Printer Cost in 2026?

Pricing varies widely based on speed, volume capacity, color capability, and whether you buy or lease. Many Pennsylvania businesses do not realize how much they already spend on printing until they break it down.

But the lease price is only part of the real number. Businesses typically spend around $725 per employee per year on printing when you include paper, supplies, maintenance, and energy. Print-related expenses can consume 1 to 3 percent of annual revenue. And studies show that 45 to 65 percent of printed pages are discarded on the same day they are printed. A well-chosen MFP combined with a managed print services agreement can cut those hidden costs significantly. You can explore what a copy machine actually costs for a deeper breakdown.

Leading MFP Brands: Sharp, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, and More

Brand choice affects not just device performance but also the quality of local service and parts availability. Here is how the main players compare for Pennsylvania office environments.

Associated Imaging Solutions works with leading manufacturers and can source, deploy, and service devices from multiple brands across the Philadelphia, Bucks County, and Montgomery County area. Need guidance on which brand fits your print volume and budget? Get a free quote and we will match you with the right device.

Should You Lease or Buy an MFP in 2026?

This is one of the most common questions we hear from Pennsylvania business owners. The short answer: most businesses with more than 10 employees benefit from leasing. Here is why.

• Cash flow: A lease spreads cost over 36-60 months, preserving capital for core business investment
• Technology refresh: Leasing lets you upgrade to newer models at lease end rather than being stuck with aging equipment
• Bundled service: Most business leases include maintenance and supplies, turning variable costs into a predictable monthly line item
• Tax treatment: Lease payments are typically fully deductible as a business operating expense (consult your accountant for specifics)
• No residual value risk: You are not responsible for reselling outdated equipment at the end of the term

Buying makes sense if you have a very stable, predictable print environment, strong IT resources to manage the device internally, and the capital budget to purchase outright. But for the majority of small to mid-size businesses in Pennsylvania, leasing delivers better total value over five years.

Want to see numbers specific to your situation? Use our online quote tool to compare lease and purchase scenarios side by side.

Document Management and Workflow Automation with Modern MFPs

One of the biggest shifts in office printing over the past five years is the move from passive output device to active workflow node. Your MFP is no longer just a machine you walk up to and press print. It is now a front-end to your entire document management ecosystem.

Scan-to-Workflow Integration

Modern MFPs can route scanned documents automatically based on rules you define. Scan an invoice and it routes to your accounting folder in SharePoint. Scan a signed contract and it routes to the client record in your document management system. This eliminates the manual drag-and-drop process that wastes time and introduces human error. Legal offices in Montgomery County and healthcare practices across Bucks County are among the heaviest users of these automated routing features, since proper document organization directly affects billing, compliance, and audit readiness.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

OCR technology converts scanned paper documents into searchable, editable text files. Without OCR, a scanned contract is just an image: you cannot search for names, dates, or dollar amounts inside it. With OCR, every scanned document becomes instantly searchable. Most business-grade MFPs include OCR scanning either natively or through optional software. The key question to ask your dealer is whether OCR output creates true PDF/A archive files or standard PDFs, since PDF/A is the required format for long-term document archival in many regulated industries.

Pull Printing and Secure Release

Pull printing holds a print job in a secure queue until the user authenticates at the device, typically via PIN, swipe card, or smartphone. The payoff is twofold. First, sensitive documents never sit unattended in the output tray. Second, jobs that were sent and forgotten are never printed at all, cutting paper and toner waste by 20 to 30 percent at many organizations. Pull printing is one of the fastest-payback features you can add to a multi-user environment, and it is standard on most mid-range and enterprise MFPs from Sharp, Ricoh, and Konica Minolta.

Energy Efficiency and Environmental Impact

Pennsylvania businesses are increasingly focused on sustainability targets, and your MFP is part of that story. ENERGY STAR-certified MFPs use 30 to 60 percent less energy than non-certified models, largely through aggressive sleep modes that activate within minutes of idle time. Look for models that meet ENERGY STAR certification and carry recycled toner cartridge programs. Some manufacturers, including Sharp and Kyocera, offer closed-loop toner recycling programs that keep empty cartridges out of landfills. These programs look good in corporate sustainability reports and often carry financial incentives from the state of Pennsylvania for qualifying businesses.

MFP Printer FAQ: Your Questions Answered