We say it every year, but it’s been a busy 12 months in print tech. This industry moves pretty fast, and it pays to look around every once in a while. With that in mind, welcome to the official PaperCut 2025 Print Tech Roundup. Your insider’s guide to what’s new and noteworthy in the world of printing.
Whether you’re a sysadmin, an IT manager, or just someone who still cares about crisp output and efficient workflows, this year’s releases have been anything but boring. We’ve even had a few of our own. From MFDs that practically manage themselves to cloud-native printing tools that finally make remote work seamless, print tech is leveling up faster than you can say, “PC Load Letter”.
1. The passing of Windows 10
RIP Windows 10. You were one heck of an operating system.
But as of 14 October 2025, official support for Windows 10 has ended, which, for PC sysadmins who don’t already have TPM 2.0, might mean a whole new fleet.
Essentially, we’re all being asked now to choose: Intel or ARM64. And if you go ARM64, any kernel-level function on your computer fleet that isn’t specifically built for ARM probably isn’t going to work. Including many printer drivers. On the plus side, PaperCut is ARM-ready and raring to go. So, bring on Windows 11.
2. Microsoft’s Windows Protected Print
Speaking of Windows, Microsoft’s Windows Protected Print (WPP) technology arrived this year. This is a new security feature in Windows 11 (24H2 and later) and Windows Server 2025 that promises to enhance printing security by eliminating third-party drivers and using the modern, driverless Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) with the Microsoft IPP class driver. In other words, it’s ditching all existing V3/V4 drivers and print queues.
Time will tell if this catches on. Now, only 2% of PaperCut customers have tried WPP (we checked), and over 70% of those who have tried it have only enabled WPP on a single computer, so…watch this space.
3. Print AI
More impactful, perhaps, is the rise of generative print AI, which (delicate Silicon Valley bubbles pending) looks like it’s here to stay.
Print AI is simply the application of artificial intelligence to printing devices, workflows and document management. In other words, it combines machine learning algorithms, data analytics and intelligent automation to make printers and print management systems smarter and more responsive.
So, do you need to run out and buy the latest “AI-powered” MFDs? Probably not. The efficiency gains are certainly there, but it’s not an essential bit of kit, at least not yet. But if you’re interested in exploring more, we’ve covered the rise of AI printing in more detail.
4. Quantum computing
In 2025, quantum computing made some, ahem, quantum leaps. Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip, built on topological qubits, was introduced in February, promising far greater stability and scalability. Meanwhile, teams at QuEra, MIT, and Harvard finally demonstrated magic-state distillation on logical qubits, a cornerstone for fault-tolerant quantum machines.
That’s a lot of new concepts, but what does it mean for printing? Well, more reliable quantum computers could (in theory) accelerate material discovery, leading to new quantum dot-based inks or photonic printing methods. Plus, recent work on deterministic printing of single quantum dots (via nanoscale electrohydrodynamic printing) already bridges quantum tech and advanced print manufacturing.
It’s all impenetrable stuff at the moment. You probably won’t need this for the WIP on Monday.
5. Print sustainability
Sustainable printing continued to gather steam in 2025, with algae- and water-based inks gaining traction, not to mention the rise of closed-loop cartridge programs (like Cartridges 4 Planet Ark). Some companies, like POLYART, are doing some interesting things with paper, too, like r-Range recyclable HDPE films and paper alternatives, which are both durable and more eco-friendly.
If you haven’t committed to more sustainable printing yet, this might be a good time. When you crunch the numbers, it becomes way more than a moral issue: it can actually be a direct (and rapid) return on investment.
6. Location-aware printing
With flexible, remote and hybrid work going mainstream, printing needed to be equally bendy, and 2025 was the year that saw location-aware printing really catch on.
By automatically connecting users to the right printers, printer drivers and print queues, regardless of their location, you’re really removing the need to manually install and configure drivers on each device. The whole system just kind of…works. It’s been a real game-changer. For more information on this, check out PaperCut Hive’s Print Queue Deployment feature.
7. Cloud print management
The numbers don’t lie: the days of the on-prem print server might be coming to an end. Maybe.
In 2025, 74% of companies manage their print setup in a hybrid cloud/on-premises setup, showing gradual but incomplete cloud transition. Those numbers would probably be even higher, if not for the fact that 32% of those companies cite protecting corporate data as the biggest adoption concern.
Basically, we’re an industry in transition. Everyone knows things are moving to the cloud. It’s inevitable. But for some companies, print is still lagging.
8. PaperCut new releases!
We couldn’t leave out some of our own exciting new releases for 2025 now, could we? For a full MF release history, head over here. But in the interests of readability (and saving everyone some time) here’s a summary of what’s new at PaperCut HQ.
- Print quotas have now arrived on PaperCut Hive and PaperCut Pocket.
- With multi-organization login, you can now use your single, primary email address to access all of the PaperCut Hive or PaperCut Pocket instances you manage. This one’s great for those looking after different departments or client sites.
- We’ve launched two new delivery options for PaperCut Hive, so you can (finally) run a Zero Trust system without opening firewall ports or new client routes.
- We’ve rebuilt the PaperCut Hive Full Embedded app for Ricoh MFDs from the ground up, giving it a major speed boost.
- We also officially launched our new PaperCut Hive Full Embedded app for Epson MFDs. So, all your Epsons are now good to go.
- Using Okta for ID management? We’ve added Okta directly into the authentication setup wizard, alongside Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra ID.
- Chromebook users now have an extended (and very slick) onboarding flow, which means fewer helpdesk tickets for you.
- We launched Print Queue Deployment on PaperCut Hive! Basically our Hive customers now get full access to all the rich features of Print Deploy.
- Lastly, we were super stoked to announce the launch of our shiny new Canadian Data Center, eh.
That’s a wrap. Thanks for a great 2025! For all the latest print industry news, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter, PaperJam. And keep checking the PaperCut blog. We release new features and trend-driven articles on there all the time.
