While artificial intelligence (AI) might be the office technology everyone is talking about, sometimes the most impressive changes are sitting right in front of you. The print industry has made massive strides over the past couple decades, and it’s not done evolving yet.
To better understand where the industry has been and where it is headed, I spoke with three Usherwood Office Technology experts: Lou Tubolino, Director of Production Print, Sean Hope, Director of Managed Print Services, and Steve Wierbinski, Pre-Sales Engineer.
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Lou Tubolino has spent more than 30 years in the print industry, beginning with a college internship and eventually helping build production print programs throughout his career. Having worked through the transition from analog equipment to today's digital production systems, he has witnessed firsthand how dramatically technology has evolved.
When Tubolino entered the industry, digital production print was still finding its footing. While it offered advantages in speed and convenience, there was often a noticeable gap between digital and offset printing when it came to aspects like: image quality, color consistency, media flexibility, and finishing capabilities.
Over the years, that gap has steadily disappeared.
"What we've seen over the last few decades is a large improvement in both quality and consistency. The production machines businesses use today would have been hard to imagine when I first started."
Lou Tubolino, Director of Production Systems, Usherwood Office Technology
Modern production devices can accurately reproduce brand colors, maintain precise registration, and deliver consistent outputs whether a customer is printing 10 or 10,000 pieces.
Automation has played a major role in production print evolution. Tasks that once required tons of operator involvement, such as color calibration and image adjustments, can now be handled through automated processes built directly into production equipment. In the past, external tools and manual calibration from an expert were needed to operate this machinery but now can be completed with the push of a button.
Workflow software has also transformed production environments. Today's production machines can help manage jobs, track costs, automate repetitive tasks, and maintain consistency from submission to final output. And now with remote monitoring, potential problems can be spotted and resolved before they impact operations.
While overall print volumes may continue to decline, Tubolino believes the value of production print will continue to increase.
Rather than producing large quantities of broad-based communications in a one material fits all way, he sees organizations increasingly focusing on shorter print runs that deliver more targeted and personalized messaging.
Tubolino expects more organizations to bring specialized print applications in-house rather than outsourcing them.
"The trend we're seeing is toward shorter runs and more personalization. Organizations may be printing fewer pieces overall, but the pieces they do print will be more targeted, more personalized, and more effective."
Lou Tubolino, Director of Production Systems, Usherwood Office Technology
What Tubolino means by this is instead of outsourcing thousands of identical pieces, by bringing production printers in house, organizations can customize materials for individual customers, or market segments, creating communications that are more relevant and impactful.
For Tubolino, that's where he sees the future of production print evolving; not in producing more pages, but in producing smarter, more strategic communications that deliver greater value to the organizations consuming them.
Sean Hope's connection to the print industry stretches back generations, with family ties to Xerox. Since entering the industry, he has witnessed the transformation of print devices from standalone office equipment into network-connected assets that play a key role in IT and security strategies.
When Hope began his career, many organizations were still replacing analog copiers with digital devices. Managed print services were emerging as a way to help businesses gain greater visibility into printing costs and improve device utilization across their organizations.
As multifunction devices became more advanced, they also became more connected. Copiers evolved from standalone office equipment into network-connected systems capable of storing, processing, and transmitting information.
"Twenty years ago, security wasn't part of print conversations at all. Nobody really thought about the fact that these devices were storing data."
Sean Hope, Director of Managed Print Services, Usherwood Office Technology
People started paying more attention when they realized digital copiers had hard drives that could store sensitive data, even after the devices were retired. At the same time, regulatory requirements like HIPAA pushed businesses to consider how information was stored in printers.
Those concerns led to significant changes across the industry. Features like secure print release, encrypted storage, data overwrite capabilities, and hard drive destruction processes became standard practices rather than optional add-ons.
While security has already reshaped managed print services, Hope believes the next major shift will involve how organizations manage printer firmware and software updates.
"Five years from now, I can see patch management for printers being viewed the same way organizations view patch management for laptops and servers today," Hope said.
As printers continue to function as connected endpoints, Hope sees printer firmware patching and updates becoming a routine part of IT operations. Automated patch management tools, remote monitoring platforms, and advanced security controls will help organizations reduce risk while simplifying administration.
Hope also believes cyber insurance providers and regulatory requirements may be advocates in driving adoption of stronger print security. As businesses face pressure to demonstrate strong cybersecurity practices for insurance providers, unmanaged print devices could become difficult to justify.
“The future of managed print services will not just be defined by device performance or operating costs, but by an organization's ability to secure every endpoint on its network, and that will include the printer down the hall.”
Sean Hope, Director of Managed Print Services, Usherwood Office Technology
With a background in technology and software, Steve Wierbinski entered the print industry from a different direction than many of his peers. His work in document management and workflow automation has given him a unique perspective on how organizations are moving beyond storing information and toward managing it.
When Wierbinski first began working with document management solutions, many organizations were simply looking for a digital alternative to paper filing. Everything was organized into folders and subfolders, so if you didn't know where a document was stored, finding it was a challenge.
As document management technology matured, organizations shifted their focus from storage to accessibility. Search tools, indexing capabilities, and metadata allowed users to locate information quickly without having to navigate folders.
"The conversation today is much more about workflows than document storage. Clients want to know how they can automate processes and reduce the amount of manual work their teams are doing."
Steve Wierbinksi, Pre-Sales Engineer, Usherwood Office Technology
One advancement that makes clients’ lives easier is integrations. Modern document management platforms integrate with Microsoft 365, OneDrive, SharePoint, and other business applications, make it easier for organizations to connect information across all of their systems.
Similarly, AI has become a regular part of both the workplace and document management systems, helping make everyday tasks easier. Tasks that previously required complex setup, custom workflows, or manual indexing can now be automated through AI-powered tools.
While document management has already undergone significant transformation, Wierbinski believes the industry is only beginning to realize the impact AI will have on workflow automation.
Today, implementing a document management solution often involves months of discovery meetings, workflow design, system configuration, and customization. Wierbinski expects that process to look very different in the years ahead.
"We're moving toward a future where businesses can describe what they want a workflow to accomplish, and AI will help build it for them."
Steve Wierbinksi, Pre-Sales Engineer, Usherwood Office Technology
As these capabilities continue to mature, Wierbinski believes implementation timelines will be shorter. Tasks that currently require extensive customization may eventually be completed through simple prompts, allowing organizations to deploy automated workflows faster and more efficiently.
He also expects AI to strengthen the connection between print and document management. While print volumes may continue to decline in some environments, scan volumes continue to increase as organizations digitize information. Multifunction devices are becoming important tools for capturing and routing information into business workflows.
Document management software like PaperCut and uniFLOW already help automate print processes through their integration with multifunction devices. In the future, Wierbinski believes AI will further simplify document workflows by helping organizations automatically classify, process, and distribute information with little to no manual effort.
"The next few years are going to bring some significant changes," he said. "The goal is to make technology easier for people while allowing the systems behind it to do more of the work."
After decades in the print industry, Usherwood's experts believe the advancements shaping today's market will continue into 2027 and beyond. For Tubolino, the future of production print lies in highly personalized, targeted communications produced in house. Hope sees managed print services evolving into a security-focused industry, with printers managed and protected like every other endpoint. For Wierbinski, the future of document management revolves around helping organizations move information faster, smarter, and with even less manual effort.
While print technology continues to evolve, the industry's future is not defined by a single advancement. The devices, software, and workflows may continue to improve, but the objective remains the same: helping organizations get the right information to the right people at the right time.