Production printers deliver double-digit Q2 growth

As the ANZ inkjet printer market continues to expand, production printer shipments record double-digital growth during Q2 of this year.

Worldwide shipments of production printers grew 15% year over year to 13,000 units during this period, according to new results released by IDC.

But despite the increase in shipment volume, shipment value declined -4% year over year to more than $500 million for the same time period.

On a geographic basis, the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) region had 9.0% year-over-over growth with shipments totaling 1,500 units.

Devices in the Mid-Production and Production categories were key contributors to the market in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) with year-over-year growth of 47.2% and 5.3%, respectively.

"2013 will be a growth year for the digital production market," says Amy Machado, Senior Research Analyst, Hardcopy Peripheral Solutions, IDC.

"While the offset-to-digital migration is a part of the story, it can't be ignored that vendors have been actively making technology enhancements from job creation to finishing, ensuring that digital print is value-added print."

2013 Q2 Market Share (Shipment Value)

1. Xerox - 30.8%

2. Canon - 20.2%

2. Konica Minolta - 16.7%

3. Ricoh - 12.5%

Others - 19.8%

Also during this period, as reported by TechDay.com last week, the ANZ inkjet printer market continued to expand during 2013 Q2, registering 443,000 units.

IDC claims the growth was largely attributed to heavy price and bundling promotions particularly within the entry level segment.