Smart fleet management isn’t just about replacing aging hardware; it’s about streamlining operations, reducing security vulnerabilities, and positioning your organization for the driver-free future that’s rapidly approaching. Whether you’re managing 50 printers or 5,000, a strategic spring refresh can deliver immediate productivity gains while preparing your infrastructure for tomorrow’s workplace demands.
Why Spring 2026 is Your Strategic Window:
- Microsoft’s 2027 timeline creates urgency for driver-free solutions
- Budget cycles align with infrastructure modernization goals
- Mopria certified devices now span 9,500+ printer models across all major manufacturers
- 120+ million Mopria certified devices are already deployed globally
Expert Recommendations
We asked leading Mopria Alliance members to share their top recommendations for enterprise print fleet optimization:
From a hardware lifecycle perspective, what are the key indicators that it’s time to refresh printer models in an enterprise fleet? How should IT teams evaluate ROI when transitioning to newer, Mopria certified devices?
“From a hardware lifecycle perspective, the right time to refresh enterprise printer models is rarely defined by age alone. More often, it’s signaled by rising service events, declining reliability, and increasing operational friction. As devices move beyond their optimized lifecycle window, maintenance frequency climbs, firmware support narrows, and compatibility gaps emerge—particularly as operating systems and security standards evolve. Refresh strategies focus on data-driven thresholds such as lifetime page volumes, service history, end-of-support milestones, and the business impact of downtime, rather than blanket replacement.
Evaluating ROI during a refresh starts with the total cost of ownership, not purchase price. Newer, Mopria certified devices reduce the dependency on legacy drivers and print servers, simplifying support while improving security and compatibility with modern print platforms. For IT teams, this translates into fewer helpdesk tickets, faster onboarding, and reduced risk tied to outdated software stacks. When combined with improved energy efficiency and right-sized device placement, the ROI case becomes clear: lower ongoing costs, improved user experience, and longer effective device life.”
-Eric McCann, Manager, Technology Portfolio Architect at Lexmark, a subsidiary of Xerox Corporation
With the shift toward driverless printing and cloud-based document workflows, what software considerations should IT teams prioritize when optimizing their print infrastructure? How can organizations prepare for the post-2027 driver landscape?
“Microsoft’s new solution for printing, referred to as IPP Class Drivers, is designed to work with Mopria certified printers. As such, they leverage PDF (for CMYK + RGB printing) and PCLm / PWGraster / JPG (RGB-only) as the encoding of information sent from a Windows machine to your printer. This replaces the PostScript and PCL implementations of the past, so the quality of your print depends on both the capabilities of your printer and the way your application (and Windows together) delivers the document to the printer.
Adobe has implemented a solution for Windows that makes use of Microsoft’s “PDF Passthrough” offered by the IPP Class Driver. This means a PDF file created in an Adobe application (including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat) can be delivered directly to the printer without modification, allowing for secure and color-accurate printing. Brand or CMYK colors and color blending effects (referred to as ‘overprint’ and ‘transparency blending’) included in your document can be interpreted at the printer rather than prematurely converted to RGB, which degrades the quality of the print.
While Adobe is among the first to deliver this capability in our applications, Mopria is encouraging all software vendors to implement Microsoft’s “PDF Passthrough” so that all documents are printed as their creators intended with no surprises. Be sure to ask your solution providers whether they support ‘PDF Passthrough’!”
-Mike Scrutton, Director of Print Strategy & Technology at Adobe
Print security vulnerabilities continue to concern IT leaders. What specific steps should organizations take during fleet refreshes to minimize attack surfaces and strengthen document security protocols?
“Our telemetry data indicates that delayed updates are common in on-prem print environments. When patching is manual, and IT teams are already stretched thin, updates easily slip, and monitoring gaps creep in. For that reason, unpatched systems have become a top attack vector.
During a fleet refresh, it’s smart to rethink that model. Moving to a cloud print platform shifts day-to-day security operations—updates, monitoring, threat detection, and response—to a managed service built for continuous protection and automation at scale. That level of security coverage reduces the risk of missed patches and significantly shrinks the attack surface.
Also prioritize solutions built around least-privilege access and zero-trust principles. Lock down who can print, release, and manage devices, to harden established document security protocols and keep attacks out.”
-Adam Bishop, Chief Marketing Officer at Y Soft
From an enterprise scalability standpoint, how should large organizations approach fleet standardization? What role does universal print compatibility play in simplifying multi-site, multi-vendor printer management?
“Fleet standardization is a key and practical approach to easy supportability, but equally important is providing a consistent experience for employees, increasing productivity, and employee satisfaction.
Standardization does not have to mean hardware or vendor standardization; having a consistent approach to providing management, serviceability, as well as user-facing, print, and scan features is effectively met through the adoption of industry best practices and standards like Mopria. This approach allows Enterprise solution providers and customers to create workflows and experiences for all customers that reduce the overhead of multiple implementations, approaches, and training, ultimately resulting in a better and more effective fleet.”
-Michael St. Laurent, Print Software and Consumer Services Chief Architect at HP
Ready to optimize your print infrastructure for the driverless future? Explore how Mopria certified solutions can streamline your fleet management while preparing for Microsoft’s 2027 transition timeline.
Explore Mopria certified solutions: https://bit.ly/Mopria_Certified
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