Not so much that, but better integration with other devices and services.
Printer integration to automatically wake up and print documents when I need them, not when I remember to print. (boarding passes, etc).
Printers that can take half-size paper, and potentially auto-scale down documents to work with that half-size paper. I hate printing because 70% of the time I need about 5 things on the page, but they're all spread out, and an entire sheet of paper is a waste. Email/web/bookmarks helps out, but we could get by with smaller paper most of the time, except all printers expect larger size paper.
Better auto-discovery of local printers around me, and cloud integration to print things wherever I'm at.
Easier ways to print remotely. If I'm onsite at a client, I can't print something I need until I get home, but I may forget then. Letting me print remotely so it's ready when I get home would help, and/or the scheduling for future printing, either at a set time or set context (IE - at home).
"3D printing" that would allow me to use those awesome red/blue glasses to get the full 3D effect from my documents.
Relatedly, I'm not sure why companies aren't giving schools free paper with ads on the back. This would help school budgets, and give advertisers a captive audience.
Printer hardware and usability need some help, too. In my office, the printers (and fax machines and copiers) are always jamming or difficult to replace the ink or paper without referring to the manual.
The office printer room actually has a huge poster: "How to fax in 12 easy steps". Ironically, the process is so "easy" that the poster lists more than 12 steps.
Create a printer protocol that basically multicasts for a certain address, and it automatically prints to the closest address. That printer would respond back with it's name and location plus map, and you wouldn't have to play the 'find the closest printer' game. You could combine this with the generic SMB/NFS/HTTP file drop idea, and simplify the printing process.
The catch would be you would no longer choose a printer, but that can be looked at 2 ways. You can simply offer the option to choose through legacy methods, or you can make the assumption that it's easier to physically find the closest printer than it is to find the physically closest printer through logical means.
It would be disruptive enough if someone made a printer that just fucking worked. My parents have been through a series of all-in-ones over the past decade or so, all of which have crapped out and shipped with terrible driver software that causes kernel panics. I've been told you can't even buy a consumer printer with metal gears anymore, just cheap plastic gears that are liable to break in a paper jam.
The printer landscape out there is so dismal, I still haven't replaced my HP printer from the late 1990's. Even though it only prints black and magenta anymore, at least it still prints at all despite being more than a decade old. I won't be able to say that about any printer I buy today.
perhaps a flexible subscription I.E. I agree to buy 12 cartridges ... within 2 years; but can request up to that time when I need them.
- Although I think you need a price on the printer to weed out those who will default on the ink. Much like the square cost $10 at the Apple store; but is free online.
