Windows

Most printers nowadays connect directly onto the network either via ethernet or wifi. I would only use a print server if all of the printers are old and don't connect directly to the network.

If it connects tot he Network directly then normally it is not necessary unless of course the number of people in the office is large and they all need to access the printer.

In a case like that a Print Server would be useful in setting the people who get preference to printing and it would be less likely to to loose any print jobs.

But with the current generation of Large Printers they have their own HDD which saves all documents to and then sends them to print.

Of course it also means that when the unit is decomissioned there will be copies of documents stored in the printer and this may be a Security Issue that needs to be addressed depending on the company and what it does.

But with 40 Staff and if they all need to send stuff to the printer and depending on the printer I would be looking at a Print Server by default as some of the available printers would struggle and if you are considering using a small Domestic/Office type printer that is going to give you problems as having a device to store the print que on would solve a lot of problems, but as I say it all depends on the Make and Model of the Printer and how much stuff will be sent to it.