What's Changed Since Your Last MFP

Most MFP fleets in Canada were specified for a workplace that doesn't exist anymore.

When most organizations last refreshed their print fleet, the buying criteria were straightforward: page volume, per-click cost, maybe toner availability. Cloud integration, security compliance, and remote work weren't part of the conversation — because they didn't need to be.

That MFP is often still in service today. The workplace around it is not the same one it was specified for.

Today, that same device is expected to authenticate hybrid staff who split time between home and office, integrate with Microsoft 365 rather than sit on an isolated local network, satisfy the print-related questions on a cyber insurance renewal, and support a print environment with no fixed daily headcount. Most legacy MFPs were never built for that job — not because the hardware failed, but because the job changed underneath it.

This is the gap this series exists to close. Over the next six months, we'll walk through each dimension of what a modern print environment actually requires: compliance with Windows Protected Print mode, document-level security controls, cloud connectivity without a local print server, multi-site fleet management, and workflow automation that removes manual document handling.

One capability no competitor in this market can match: Toshiba Tec Canada is the only workplace solutions provider in Canada whose portfolio spans e-STUDIO™ multifunction printers, barcode and label printers, and digital signage — all managed under one service agreement.

What's changed isn't the printer. It's everything the printer now has to plug into:

Security posture — MFPs handling sensitive documents are now a line item on security audits and cyber insurance questionnaires — not just a service contract

Cloud infrastructure — remote and hybrid staff need to print without a VPN or a local server, which most legacy fleets were never designed to support

Compliance frameworks — Windows Protected Print mode, audit logging, and data-handling requirements that didn't exist when older devices were specified

Operational visibility — IT now expects the same monitoring and reporting from print that it gets from every other piece of infrastructure

None of these are exotic requirements. They're the same baseline Canadian IT teams already apply to every other category of infrastructure — print has simply been the slowest to catch up.

We're opening this series with a direct question: What's the last major change your organization made — hybrid work, a security framework, a new cloud platform — that your print environment had to catch up to?

Driver headaches? A security audit finding that named the MFP fleet specifically? A move to Microsoft 365 that the printer wasn't really part of?

Drop your answer in the comments. We'll make sure we cover it.