Inkjet printers see growth in business sector

Printing is not dying. Not everywhere, anyway. Business inkjet shipments rose 16.3 percent to 2.2 million units in the third quarter compared with 2014, according to numbers from IDC. However, the market as a whole is not growing. Hardcopy peripherals declined 6.3 percent in the third quarter, bringing shipments down to 25.8 million units. The value of the market fell 5.7 percent to $13.8 billion. While the need for printers is declining overall, the business sector is a standout in terms of performance. But it is not the only sector that is seeing success. Basic and managed print services grew to 380,000 units in the third quarter, US shipments rose to 5.6 million units and high-end color laser printers of 45ppm or greater saw shipments jump 15.3 percent.

All the top brands by shipments saw declines in the third quarter as the overall market shrunk. Epson did the best among the top five, declining only 1.3 percent. Kyocera Document Solutions is not among the top five printer companies, but it performed the best with 6.1 percent growth, shipping 415,000 units.

Targeting the business sector continues to be a good bet. It is one of the few areas where printing is still essential. Many consumers can meet most of their needs with computers, tablets and smartphones. Inkjet printers are still the popular option in the workplace since they are more affordable, but high-end laser printers are also doing well. It might be rare that an office would need something capable of rapidly pushing out several documents, but those who have such needs are pushing the market higher.

See a comparison table of selected inkjet printer cartridge suppliers on GlobalSources.com