Printers Decline but InkTanks Increase in India

Printers Decline but InkTanks Increase

According to the Times of India, consumer demand for printers and copiers has shrunk as many have picked up on “technological shift to cheaper ink tank printers, and the emergence of digital workplaces.”

The report quoted the latest International Data Corporation (IDC) tracker which claims India’s hardcopy peripherals (HCP) market declined over 4 percent year-on-year during between April and June. “For the second consecutive quarter this year, individual and corporate consumers deferred their purchases.” With quarterly shipments of about 840,000 units in the quarter ended June, the market fell 4.5 percent from 880,000 units shipped in June 2018.

In the same quarter in 2018 the highest year-on-year growth of 23.1 percent had been recorded over the same period in 2017. The 2017 figures had been low thanks to the new monetary policy including the value-added tax or GST.

“The decline (in 2019) was primarily due to a slowdown in consumption faced by the HCP vendors owing to challenging economic conditions,” Bani Johri, analyst, IDC India, said. The liquidity crunch also restricted the growth of small businesses further impacting their spends,” she added. “A falling preference for laser printers and dot matrix printers among individual and corporate consumers also contributed to a fall in overall market size.”

Despite the slowdown, new-age ink tank printers grew 4 percent year-on-year as it is more environmentally friendly and cheaper,” reported the Times of India. The laser printer market declined by almost 13 percent year-on-year. The cost of operating ink tank printers is significantly cheaper than using laser printers.

Epson India its EcoTank printers make printing 23 times cheaper when compared to laser printers.”

IDC’s Industry trackers also claim “HCP vendors are coping with the slump by accelerating sales incentives like EMI schemes, instant cashback and gifting accessories.”

During the April-June period, HP Inc. maintained market leadership with a 43 percent share, Epson came in second at 24 percent with Canon maintaining third place with 19.6 percent market share.

Is your business impacted by the decline in printers or the increase in inktanks in India? Please comment below.