WORLDWIDE SHIPMENT TO INCREASE 7.8% IN 05

[Anonymous]

Worldwide Printers, Copiers and MFP Shipments to Increase 7.8 percent
August  2005
Worldwide printer,
copiers and multifunction products (MFP) shipments are projected to
surpass 124.7 million units in 2005, a 7.8 percent increase from 2004
shipments, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide revenue for these
products is forecast to surpass $59.7 billion, up 4.5 percent from last
year. The color laser printer market and the color laser multifunction
product (MFP) segments will be the high growth areas.
 
Worldwide sales of printer, copiers and MFPs will continue steady
growth through 2009. By the end of 2009, worldwide shipments are
forecast to surpass 148.9 million units, while revenue will exceed
$60.7 billion.

Migrating the market to color

Less than 6 percent of the pages printed in the office are color pages.
While the color segment offers promising opportunities, manufacturers
face the challenge of getting corporations to transfer to color devices.

Gartner analysts said manufacturers are focused on transitioning their
customers from monochrome devices to color. “Vendors need a broad
family of color products to replace the large installed base of
monochrome printers, copiers and MFPs,” said Peter Grant, research vice
president in Gartner’s Digital Document and Imaging group. “The
monochrome to color transition will be a significant event, as large
vendors fight to keep their installed base, while other vendors look to
grow their business with color offerings.”


Business segment

“Businesses are concerned about the high cost per page for color, and
they worry about losing control of high printing costs when migrating
to color,” Mr. Grant said. “Color is still a ‘nice to have’ feature,
versus a ‘need to have’ option for many companies. However,
photographs, color charts, graphics imaging, and the Internet are
driving the need to print in color. Many documents lose their impact
and message if they are not printed in color.”

Consumer segment

In the consumer segment, digital photography is driving demand for
color devices. “Higher resolution cameras, more sophisticated users,
and the desire to print in the home have many manufacturers improving
their product offerings to provide easier to use, faster photo
printers, and lower prices,” Mr. Grant said.  

[Author]

August 20, 2005 at 8:10 AM