Fujifilm To Enter Commercial Inkjet Printer Market
TOKYO – Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings said on Friday it would enter the market
for industrial inkjet printers from this month to spur sales of ink cartridges.
The company said it would aim for annual sales of 20 billion yen ($169
million) of the new printers and ink by the business year 2009/10.
Fujifilm will buy the printers on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM)
basis from a unit of Mutoh Holdings and Dutch maker Oce NV and market them
together with ink from the U.K.-based ink maker Sericol Group Ltd. that it
acquired in 2005.
Fujifilm has been investing in new areas such as liquid crystal display-use
film, health care and office equipment to offset shrinking demand for
photographic film.
In its inkjet-related business, Fujifilm bought U.S. print head maker
Dimatric Inc. and ink dye supplier Avecia Inkjet Ltd. last year.
The company said it would launch the new business in
the United States this month and later expand into Europe and Japan.