Remote Work and Hybrid Printing: How to Equip Your Employees in 2026
Remote Work and Hybrid Printing: How to Equip Your Employees in 2026
Remote work has become a lasting reality in the Belgian professional landscape. According to the latest data from the FPS Employment, over 37% of Belgian workers practice hybrid work in 2026, alternating between office and home. This new work organisation raises a concrete question that many companies underestimate: how do you manage printing when your teams are dispersed?
Between the employee printing contracts from their kitchen in Liège, the sales team needing brochures in Brussels, and the accounting department scanning invoices from Namur, printing needs in hybrid mode are very real — and often poorly anticipated.
This guide walks you through setting up an efficient, secure and cost-controlled hybrid printing strategy step by step.
Why Printing Remains Essential in Remote Work
The Myth of the “Paperless Office”
We’ve been hearing it for years: the paperless office is just around the corner. In reality, even the most digitalised companies continue to print. Contracts to sign, legal documents, presentation materials, expense reports, shipping labels… Paper remains a daily work tool for many professions.
In Belgium, a study by Comeos (the trade federation) reveals that an average SME still prints between 3,000 and 8,000 pages per month. The shift to remote work hasn’t reduced this volume — it has simply displaced it.
The Concrete Problems of Remote Work Without a Printing Strategy
Without an adapted solution, remote work creates problematic situations:
- Wild printing: employees buy personal printers of variable quality, without any standardisation
- Hidden costs: inkjet cartridges at €40 that run out in 200 pages, meaning a cost per page 5 to 10 times higher than a professional photocopier
- Security breaches: confidential documents printed on unsecured home Wi-Fi networks
- No tracking: impossible to know who prints what, in what quantity
- Operational delays: the employee who has to “wait until Monday at the office” to print an urgent document
The 4 Hybrid Printing Models for Belgian Companies
Model 1: The Centralised Office Photocopier
Principle: all printing stays at the office. Remote workers send their print jobs remotely via the cloud and collect their documents during their next visit.
For whom? Companies with a regular hybrid rhythm (2-3 days at the office per week) and moderate print volumes.
Advantages:
- Controlled cost per page thanks to the professional multifunction photocopier
- Centralised security (secure printing by badge or PIN code)
- Simplified maintenance with only one fleet to manage
Disadvantages:
- The employee must wait until they’re at the office
- Not suited for urgent remote work needs
Estimated cost: €80 to €250/month in all-inclusive rental for a device capable of serving 10-30 users.
Model 2: The Compact Home Printer
Principle: the company provides each remote worker with a small laser printer, with a toner supply contract.
For whom? Employees working remotely full-time or near full-time, with low to medium print volumes (less than 500 pages/month).
Advantages:
- Immediate printing, no travel needed
- Reduced acquisition cost (€150-400 per device)
- Total employee autonomy
Disadvantages:
- Multiplication of devices to manage
- Lower quality than a professional multifunction
- No advanced scanning or finishing (stapling, binding)
Estimated cost: €150-400 purchase + 3-8 cents per page depending on the model.
Model 3: Hybrid Cloud Printing
Principle: a cloud printing system allows employees to send their documents from anywhere. Printing is triggered on the office photocopier (with secure pickup) or on a local printer as chosen by the user.
For whom? Medium to large companies with teams spread across multiple locations, including the Brussels region and Flanders.
Advantages:
- Total flexibility: print at the office or at home
- Centralised quota and printing rights management
- Cost tracking by department or user
- Compatible with modern photocopier rental solutions
Disadvantages:
- More complex technical implementation
- Requires a reliable internet connection
- Cloud platform cost (€5-15/user/month)
Estimated cost: €150-400/month for the central photocopier + €5-15/user/month for the cloud platform.
Model 4: The Shared Printing Hub (Coworking)
Principle: the company subscribes to a coworking space or business centre offering professional printing services, close to employees’ homes.
For whom? Companies without fixed offices or with highly geographically dispersed employees across Belgium.
Advantages:
- Professional quality without hardware investment
- Access to advanced finishing (binding, laminating, large format)
- Geographic flexibility
Disadvantages:
- Higher cost per page
- Document confidentiality to monitor
- Dependency on an external provider
Estimated cost: €0.10-0.25 per page depending on the space.
How to Choose the Right Model for Your Company
Assess Your Actual Print Volumes
Before any decision, measure your real needs. Ask yourself these questions:
- How many pages does each employee print per month?
- What percentage of these prints is urgent (can’t wait for the return to the office)?
- What types of documents are involved (simple A4, colour, A3, binding)?
- How many days per week do your employees work remotely?
An accounting firm with weekly tax returns to print won’t have the same needs as a communications agency working primarily in digital.
Our Recommendation for Belgian SMEs
For most Belgian SMEs with 5 to 50 employees, the hybrid model (model 3) offers the best compromise:
- A multifunction photocopier on rental at the main office, sized for large volumes
- A cloud printing system for remote sending
- Optionally 2-3 small laser printers for the most remote employees or those with frequent urgent needs
Security: The Great Challenge of Hybrid Printing
Risks Specific to Remote Work
Home printing introduces vulnerabilities your IT department must anticipate:
- Unsecured home network: a photocopier connected to the family Wi-Fi is exposed to the same risks as any IoT device
- Forgotten documents: no secure collection tray at home; sensitive documents left lying around
- No encryption: data travels unencrypted between computer and local printer
- No logs: impossible to trace who printed what in case of a data breach
Concrete Solutions
Secure Printing by Badge or PIN Code
Modern professional photocopiers, such as those offered on lease, integrate secure printing functions. The document is only released after physical identification of the user at the device.
Mandatory VPN for Remote Printing
Require all print jobs sent to the company network to go through VPN. This ensures data encryption and prevents document interception.
Clear Printing Policy
Draft and distribute a printing policy for remote work:
- List of documents authorised for home printing
- Obligation to destroy printed documents (paper shredder provided by the company)
- Prohibition on printing certain data categories (HR, financial, client)
GDPR Compliance
Remember that GDPR also applies to documents printed at home. An employee printing a client file at home creates a physical copy of personal data outside company premises. Your DPO must integrate this reality into the processing register.
Optimising Printing Costs in Hybrid Mode
The Real Cost of Home Printing
Many companies think they’re saving money by letting employees figure it out. In reality, the total cost is often 3 to 5 times higher than a centralised solution.
Concrete example:
An employee in Liège printing 300 pages/month with their personal inkjet printer:
- Cartridges: approximately €25/month (8.3 cents/page)
- Paper: approximately €5/month
- Printer depreciation: approximately €8/month
- Total: ~€38/month, or 12.7 cents/page
The same volume on a professional photocopier on rental:
- All-inclusive cost per page (toner + maintenance): 1 to 3 cents
- Rental share: approximately €10/month (for a device shared among 15 people)
- Total: ~€16/month, or 5.3 cents/page
Savings: 58% on printing costs.
Practical Cases: Belgian Companies That Successfully Made the Transition
Case 1: An Architecture Firm in Brussels (12 employees)
Context: 3 days at the office, 2 days remote. Need to print A3 plans and presentation folders.
Solution implemented:
- A multifunction A3 photocopier on rental at the office with finisher
- PaperCut Hive for remote print job submission
- 2 small A4 laser printers for employees living in Walloon Brabant
Result: 40% reduction in printing costs compared to the “everyone fends for themselves” system.
Case 2: An Accounting Firm in Namur (25 employees)
Context: high volumes (8,000 pages/month), confidential documents, legal obligation to keep certain paper documents.
Solution implemented:
- 2 professional photocopiers on lease at the main office in Namur
- Secure printing by PIN code for all tax documents
- Mandatory VPN for document sending from home
Result: GDPR compliance ensured, zero data breach incidents in 18 months.
Case 3: A Tech Startup in Antwerp (8 employees, 100% remote)
Context: no fixed office, team spread between Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels.
Solution implemented:
- Subscriptions in 3 coworking spaces with inclusive printing services
- Electronic signature (itsme) to reduce contract printing by 90%
Result: monthly printing cost of less than €50 for the entire company.
2026 Trends Transforming Hybrid Printing
Artificial Intelligence Serving Printing
Next-generation photocopiers integrate AI functions that facilitate hybrid work:
- Intelligent routing: the system automatically identifies the best device for each print job
- Predictive maintenance: sensors anticipate breakdowns and automatically order toner
- Advanced OCR: scanning recognises document content and classifies automatically
Accelerated Digitalisation
The Belgian legal framework pushes towards paper reduction:
- Mandatory electronic invoicing between companies from 2026 (B2B)
- Electronic signature legally recognised via eIDAS 2.0
- Certified digital archiving gradually replacing paper archiving
Eco-Responsible Printing
Hybrid work can be an ecological opportunity if printing is well managed:
- Fewer commutes = improved carbon footprint
- Duplex as default: configure all devices for automatic double-sided printing
- Recycled toner: many Belgian suppliers offer reconditioned toners, reducing the environmental footprint by 60%
Checklist: Implementing Your Hybrid Printing Strategy
Phase 1: Audit (week 1-2)
- Survey current print volumes per employee and department
- Identify types of printed documents
- Evaluate percentage of “urgent” remote prints
- Inventory personal printers already in use
- Calculate current total costs (visible + hidden)
Phase 2: Decision (week 3)
- Choose the appropriate hybrid printing model
- Define the monthly target budget
- Select the cloud printing platform
- Draft the remote work printing policy
Phase 3: Deployment (week 4-6)
- Install or adapt the office photocopier
- Configure the cloud printing solution
- Distribute home printers if necessary
- Train employees
Phase 4: Monitoring (ongoing)
- Analyse monthly print reports
- Adjust quotas and settings
- Renegotiate rental contract if volumes change significantly
Conclusion: Investing in Hybrid Printing Means Investing in Productivity
Hybrid work is here to stay. Ignoring the printing question means accepting hidden costs, security risks and daily frustrations for your employees.
The good news: solutions exist, they’re mature, and they’re accessible even for small Belgian businesses. Whether it’s a photocopier rental in Brussels, a leasing contract adapted to your volumes, or a complete cloud solution — you have the choice.
The key is not to react, but to anticipate. Audit your needs, choose the right model, and give your teams the tools to work efficiently, wherever they are.
Want a personalised diagnosis of your hybrid printing needs? Contact us for a free, no-obligation study tailored to your Belgian business.