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PRINT.IT
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Challenging market conditions
saw worldwide shipments of
printers and MFPs decline
by 8.4% (year-on-year)
in the second quarter of
2012, according to IDC’s
Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy
Peripherals Tracker
.
Laser was the only technology
to experience positive year-on-
year growth in 2Q12, up 0.8% to
9.5 million units, compared to a
12.7% fall in shipments of inkjet
devices, their steepest drop since
3Q09. Laser shipments now
account for 36% of the overall
hardcopy peripherals market, 4
points more than a year ago, and
inkjet 60%.
Within the laser segment,
sales of colour laser devices grew
by 3.5%, helping colour reach
16% of total laser shipments.
Monochrome laser devices have
an 84% share of laser shipments
with more than 7.9 million units,
flat from a year ago.
Wireless printing was another
growth area, with shipments
of WiFi-enabled devices (inkjet
and laser) growing by 5% to
9.1 million units or one third
No sign of recovery in
printer industry as hardware
sales continue to fall
of the total 26.5 million units
shipped. The wireless segment
grew fastest in mature markets,
with 5.6% growth compared to
3.6% year-over-year growth in
emerging markets.
The Top Five
Market leader HP saw unit
shipments decline by 12.7%
year over year (-16.6% in mature
markets). Even so, it remained
the number 1 hardcopy
peripheral vendor with 39.6%
of worldwide shipments (10.5
million units).
In second place, Canon
gained ground on HP increasing
its worldwide market share to
21.4% with a 0.5% year-on-year
growth in total shipments. This
was driven by a 2.9% rise in
mature regions.
In third place, Epson
increased its market share –
up one point to 13.2% – with
a below average decline in
shipments (-1.3%), as sales
in mature markets (up 9.8%)
compensated for a decline of
8.9% in emerging markets.
Brother moved into fourth
place with 6.5% market share,
following a year-on-year rise in
unit shipments of
6.5% to 1.7 million
units. It benefited
from double-digit
growth (20.3%) in
emerging markets
while experiencing
a small decline
(-2.8%) in mature
regions.
Samsung
(5.1% market
share) suffered
a decline of 22%
in total shipments,
Plummeting inkjet sales provide backdrop as
both Lexmark and Kodak pull out of inkjet market
with a double-digit fall in both
emerging and mature markets
as old models were phased out
prior to the introduction of new
machines in the third quarter.
Western Europe
In Western Europe, the market
for hardcopy peripherals shrank
by 14.1% to 4.52 million units
compared to shipments of 5.27
million in the same quarter a
year ago. As the largest declines
were in the consumer and low-
end laser markets, the fall in
revenue was less steep – down
4.2% to $2.5 billion from $2.6
billion in 2Q11.
Most technologies and
segments for the quarter
showed year-on-year declines,
but there was positive growth
in the A3 colour MFP market of
8.1% and production devices
increased by 14.5%. There
was disappointment for inkjet
manufacturers as consumer
markets slumped by 16.6% and
business inkjets weakened as
the poor economic situation
continued to affect the general
business environment.
IDC data shows that all
the top 5 Western European
countries experienced double
digit declines, including
the UK where the hardcopy
market contracted by 16.1%
to 804,000 units, with laser
printer shipments plunging by
almost a third. The UK laser MFP
market grew by 6.8% thanks to
exceptionally strong demand
for A4 and A3 colour MFPs,
which both enjoyed double-digit
growth. There was also strong
demand for high speed inkjet
printers (up 20%) and growth
of 28.4% was seen in other
production device shipments.
Printer Market
What is the significance of
the exits of both Kodak and
Lexmark from the inkjet
market?
At the end of August Lexmark
announced that it was ceasing
to develop and manufacture
all inkjet printers, including its
recently launched OfficeEdge
business inkjets, but would
continue to service and
support customers’ existing
devices. Lexmark says its
decision will result in annual
savings of $95 million from
2015 when it finally closes its
inkjet supplies manufacturing
facility in the Philippines.
Lexmark’s announcement was
followed a month later by the
news that Kodak, too, would
be pulling out of the consumer
inkjet market as it restructures
its business to focus on
‘commercial, packaging and
functional printing solutions
and enterprise services’ in
an attempt to emerge from
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As
Lexmark tries to find a buyer
for its inkjet technology,
PrintIT
asked a number of
printer companies what
these decisions say about the
prospects of inkjet as an office
printing technology.
Epson commented:
“Lexmark’s decision will mean
less competition in the inkjet
printer market and therefore
more opportunities for Epson.
We plan to grow our share
of the business market by
leveraging our core Micro
Piezo technology to roll out
new products relevant to the
Inkjet vs
Laser
continued...
Sales of
wireless devices like the new
Samsung CLX-3305FW grew strongest in mature markets