TL;DR
U.S. Bank modernized its print infrastructure as part of a broader cloud strategy, reducing its printer fleet by 40 percent and eliminating millions of printed pages while improving security and visibility. The effort revealed that print modernization is not just an IT upgrade. It requires cross-functional alignment, thoughtful change management, and ongoing iteration. For enterprise IT leaders, print may be one of the last overlooked areas of legacy infrastructure, but modernizing it can deliver meaningful operational, cost, and security benefits.
When organizations talk about cloud modernization, the conversation usually centers on applications, infrastructure, or security frameworks.
Print rarely comes up.
But in my experience working with enterprise organizations, print infrastructure is often overlooked, making it one of the last pieces of legacy technology still operating outside a modern cloud environment. As a result, supporting print can create unnecessary complexity for IT teams and real security risks for the business.
U.S. Bank recently undertook a major effort to modernize its print environment across thousands of locations. The initiative reduced the bank’s printer fleet by 40 percent and eliminated millions of printed pages while improving visibility and security.
What stood out to me most was not just the technical implementation, but the lessons that emerged along the way. For organizations considering a similar journey, here are five takeaways that I believe are particularly important.
1. Print Modernization Is Bigger Than an IT Project
One of the biggest misconceptions about print modernization is that it is simply an infrastructure upgrade.
In reality, it touches multiple parts of the organization.
Security teams care about how documents move through the network. Risk teams care about how sensitive information is handled. Procurement teams care about device lifecycle and cost management.
Chris Green, Assistant Vice President at U.S. Bank, made this point clearly when discussing the project.
“Making a switch like this isn’t just something within your IT stack,” he said. “You really need to work with security teams, risk teams, procurement, and really analyze the costs, use cases, and technical implications before making a decision.”
The organizations that succeed with print modernization are the ones that recognize this early and bring the right stakeholders into the conversation from the start.
2. Fleet Sprawl Happens Slowly but Becomes Expensive
Another thing I see frequently in large enterprises is printer fleet sprawl.
Devices get added over time to support new teams, new locations, or new vendors. Lack of focus, visibility, and monitoring eventually leads to a mix of hardware models, service providers, and lifecycle timelines that become difficult to manage.
U.S. Bank experienced the same thing.
“We wanted to right-size our fleet because we had sprawl over time,” Green explained. “We also had printers that were over 10 years old.”
When the bank evaluated its environment, the opportunity for consolidation became clear.
The result was significant. By optimizing and standardizing the fleet, U.S. Bank reduced the total number of printers by 40 percent while still supporting the needs of employees across the organization.
3. Modern Print Workflows Improve Security
One of the most important changes U.S. Bank implemented was moving to pull printing.
Instead of printing directly to a device, employees send jobs to a secure queue and release them at the printer using badge authentication.
“We wanted to establish a pull print solution to modernize the way we were printing at the bank and increase our security,” Green said.
From a security perspective, this is a meaningful shift. Documents are no longer sitting unattended on a printer tray waiting to be picked up. Access is tied to user identity, and organizations gain much better visibility into print activity.
For industries that manage sensitive information, this kind of control is becoming increasingly important.
4. Change Management Matters More Than Technology
One of the lessons that stood out most to me during this project was how much effort went into communication and change management.
Introducing a new printing model may not sound dramatic, but printing is something employees do every day. Even small workflow changes can feel disruptive if they are not explained properly.
As Green described it:
“We made a big change here at the bank. We went from some legacy rudimentary printing to pull print where people were badging in and releasing their print jobs.”
Helping employees understand why the change was happening and how it would benefit them was critical.
“It took quite a bit of communication and time to work with our end users on a very large change,” Green said.
This is a good reminder that successful technology projects are not just about the infrastructure. They are about the people using it.
5. Modernization Is a Continuous Process
Perhaps the most important takeaway from U.S. Bank’s experience is that modernization does not stop once the system is deployed.
As the new environment rolled out across thousands of locations, the team continued learning about how different groups interacted with print.
Some teams embraced pull printing immediately. Others needed slightly different workflows.
Even after the transition, the system continued evolving.
“Even after we fully transitioned, we added features that allow push printing again for groups that need that,” Green said. “It’s kind of a continual learning experience. We’re just getting better as we go.”
That mindset made a big difference. Instead of treating deployment as the finish line, the team approached modernization as an ongoing process of refinement.
Why This Matters for Enterprise IT
What I find most interesting about U.S. Bank’s experience is how familiar it will feel to many enterprise IT leaders.
Print is easy to overlook because it has been part of the workplace for decades. But when you examine it closely, it often reveals some of the oldest infrastructure still operating inside modern organizations.
Modernizing that infrastructure can deliver real benefits.
U.S. Bank reduced its printer fleet by 40 percent. In the first year alone, the organization eliminated six million printed pages. More recently, that number reached 18 million pages saved year over year.
Those numbers represent more than operational efficiency. They reflect better visibility, stronger security, and a print environment that aligns with the bank’s broader cloud strategy.
For organizations pursuing cloud modernization, print may not be the first system you think about. But in many cases, it is one of the last major pieces of legacy infrastructure still waiting to catch up.
And as U.S. Bank’s experience shows, modernizing it can have a bigger impact than many organizations expect.
