Methods for determining an optimal memory allocation unit size for a framebuffer in a single memory pool comprising frame buffer memory and display list memory on printing devices are presented. In some embodiments, a method for determining an optimal allocation unit size for memory allocation units allocated from a memory pool in response to a memory allocation request for a pixmap comprises determining the amount of unutilized memory when the pixmap is stored using a plurality of memory allocation unit sizes, wherein the memory allocation unit sizes are an integral multiple of a base memory allocation unit; and selecting a memory allocation unit size from the plurality of memory allocation unit sizes based on criteria related to the amount of unutilized memory.