Colour set to saturate the laser printer market

Analyst predicts that colour printer sales will grow steadily as vendors encourage users to make the switch

Worldwide printer, copiers and multifunctional device (MFP) shipments will pass 124.7 million units this year as vendors urge customers to make the transition from monochrome to colour, according to analyst firm Gartner.

The analyst predicted that the colour laser market and the colour laser MFP segment will enjoy particularly high growth.

Peter Grant, research vice-president at Gartner’s digital document and imaging group, said: “Vendors need a broad family of colour products to replace the large installed base of monochrome printers, copiers and MFPs. The monochrome-to-colour transition will be significant, as large vendors fight to keep their installed base, while others look to grow their business with colour offerings.”

Worldwide sales of printer, copiers and MFPs will continue to grow steadily. By the end of 2009, worldwide shipments are forecast to surpass 148.9 million units, while revenue will exceed $60.7bn, Gartner claimed.

Gary Hunter, director of UK sales and service at TallyGenicom, agreed with Gartner. “We have experienced the most significant growth, 70 per cent in total, in the colour market over the past 12 months. Our Care for Life programme is our main focus for growth in the colour market, and is an example of how we’re transitioning customers over from monochrome to colour,” he said.

Julian Blackler, marketing manager at Xerox Office Group UK, said: “Since 2001, colour has leapt from 16 per cent to 25 per cent of Xerox’s total revenue worldwide. Revenue from colour products is a key driver of Xerox’s growth strategy.

“We continue to invest in black-and-white technology. It is all about using colour where colour is right and black-and-white when that is right. Colour is a feature in the office, just like having the ability to print on different-sized paper.

“For a long time there was no option besides black-and-white printing. That has now changed. Even though there is huge growth in colour, there’s still a far greater volume of black-and-white documents in the workplace and that will remain true.”