IDC: 2013 Printer Shipments in India Remained Flat

IDC reported that 3.2 million units of printers (Inkjet, Laser, Serial Dot Matrix and Line Printers) were shipped in India in 2013, down 0.1% year-on-year (YOY).

IDC noted that both consumer and commercial markets were weak in the first half of 2013, but thanks to aggressive consumer and commercial marketing and a couple of bulk Government orders, overall shipments improved in the second half of the year.

Shipments of inkjet printers increased 0.9% compared to 2012. The printer-based laser market saw a hike of 2.1% YOY in shipments, while the copier-based market fell 0.6% YOY. “Although the laser market didn’t perform as expected, the share of Multi-Function Printers (MFPs) went up to 47% in  2013 and this is further expected to go up in the coming years,” said Mohit Raizada, Senior Market Analyst at IDC India.

HP ranked top with 48.9% shipment share in 2013. Canon accounted for 19.1% share, followed by Epson and Samsung, with shares of 9.8% and 6.5%, respectively. Ricoh placed in the fifth position, as it has obtained a few key government special projects, which fueled its growth in 2013.

“As the vendors start targeting n0ew market segments they are starting to bring unique products like high-end, monochrome Inkjet printers, and printers with integrated storage (to facilitate business process enablement),” said Venu Reddy, Research Director at IDC. “These unique products along with customers’ willingness to engage in MPS (Managed Print Services) with the vendors will drive the printer market maturity in the coming years.”

“As the vendors start targeting new market segments they are starting to bring unique products like High-end Mono Inkjet printers, and Printers with integrated storage (to facilitate business process enablement).” said Venu Reddy, Research Director at IDC, “These unique products along with customers willingness to engage in MPS (Managed Print Services) engagement with the vendors will drive the printer market maturity in the coming years.”