Thanks Jeff, that's an interesting point, I hadn't thought about it that way. If it's really just a lease-to-own financing program, I don't see much benefit for me.
Many equipment leases are "lease to own", with usually a minimal buyout at the end. Unlike car leases, where there is a predictable residual value which is factored into the lease thus lowering payments but a buyout price which is often higher than the cars value at the end of the lease, equipment leases are obtained for a couple of reasons. First, some companies specialize in leasing certain types of equipment, so getting approval is easier and doesn't require a substantial down payment, unlike a bank which has no clue what you are buying so they want some substantial investment on your part or attachment of other property to secure the lease. The leasing company will usually not require that, and in fact if you have a track record with them may not even require a personal guarantee.
Another reason leases are used is tax advantages. Usually a lease payment is deductible as an expense, rather than having to depreciate the value over a period of years. Sometimes that can be helpful, though I think those advantages (in the U.S. anyway) have become less important with accelerated depreciation schedules.
Also some equipment is leased because the lease is the useful life of the equipment, and is planned on being replaced. This is really only useful if there is a decent amount of residual value.
But interest rates on leases are usually a higher, and often substantially higher than loans, especially loans that are secured by solid assets, such as a line of credit against a portfolio or real property instead of the high risk odd piece of equipment (odd for the bank - what do they do with it if they have to repossess it?)
As far as "lease to try", that's usually something that a vendor themselves offer (so they work with the leasing company and guarantee the debt), and with printers the vendors usually choose deep rebates in place of any type of lease program.
