Printer Market Remains Strong: IDC
Sales of printers grew by
double digits over the prior year according to IDC second quarter
results. HP maintained its leadership position.
Growing 16 percentage points over the first quarter and 11 per cent
year-on-year the market was buoyed by the seasonal spike in demand from
financial year-end buying in the enterprise space, said IDC.
Laser printer shipments were up 29 per cent over Q2 2004, while inkjets
had a much quieter result turning in a “relatively modest” 6 per cent,
said the research firm.
Multi-function devices are still where the action is with inkjet MFPs
growing 26 per cent over last year and laser MFP shipments up 38 per
cent over Q2 2004.
“The Australian printer market, though mature, has been witnessing
multi-level shifts in end-user preferences. On the first level, smaller
businesses are migrating from inkjet printers to laser printers”, said
Rishi Ghai, Market Analyst, Peripherals, at IDC. “The second level is
characterised by end-users shifting from monochrome lasers to colour
lasers.
“The third level comprises of enterprises opting for multi-function
printing solutions as opposed to the traditional single function
printers. The fourth, and rather nascent level, is that of enterprises
going in for managed print services, bypassing direct capital
investment in printing equipment”, he said.
HP continued to lead the market with a 29 per cent share, ranking top
in single and multi-function lasers as well as MFP inkjets. However,
Canon was only a shade behind HP with a share of 27 per cent which it
gained by “leveraging primarily on its supremacy in the single function
inkjet printer space” said IDC.
Third place saw Epson edge out Lexmark by a point thanks to strong
single function inkjet shipments. Then there was a big wait for third
with Brother coming in at 5 per cent a long way behind the top four.
IDC Top-5 Printer Vendors, Q2 2005:
* HP 29%
* Canon 27%
* Epson 14%
* Lexmark 13%
* Brother 5%
* Others 12%