The worldwide production-printer market increased 5.2 percent year-over-year in unit shipments in the fourth quarter of 2015 (4Q15) to approximately 10,700 units, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Production Printer Tracker. Unit shipment-value increased 0.9 percent to nearly $1.3 billion in the same time period.
Note that in its research, IDC tracks mid-production, production (full production), and label-and-package printing devices in its Worldwide Quarterly Production Printer Tracker. The Production Print Tracker includes single-function printers and multifunctional systems (MFPs).
Market highlights in 4Q15 include the following:
- Six out-of-eight regional markets saw positive year-over-year unit growth in the production-print space. Key contributors to the worldwide growth were Western Europe, which grew 10.4 percent, Japan (22.9 percent), and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (6.4 percent).
- Color laser grew by 19.1 percent on an annual basis. High-speed inkjet saw a 7.1 percent increase, while monochrome inkjet decreased by 8.7 percent.
“While production-class technologies saw an annual dip in the fourth quarter, 2015 showed itself to be a growth year for digital technologies. Digital vendors closed out the year of 2015 with 10 percent gains, with the highest increase coming from color laser, followed by high-speed inkjet. While inkjet has the potential for high growth, especially (the) post-drupa (trade show), IDC is not discounting the strength and vibrancy of color-toner technologies coming from vendors like Xerox and HP Inc. Within inkjet, Canon and Ricoh remain the market leaders. Even monochrome technologies saw a boost as the strength of the on-demand publishing segment continues to grow,” commented Amy Machado, research manager for IDC’s Imaging, Printing, and Document Solutions.
Note that in the chart below, Xerox Group includes Xerox and Fuji Xerox; Rioch Group includes Gestetner (NRG), Lanier, Nashua, Nashuatec, Rex Rotary, Ricoh, and Ricoh Industry; the Konica Minolta Group includes Develop, ITEC, Konica Minolta, and Sindoh; and the Canon Group includes Canon and Showa Jyoho.
| Worldwide Production Market Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Calendar Year 2015 (based on units shipments) | |||||
| Vendors | 2015 Unit Shipments | 2015 Market Share | 2014 Unit Shipments | 2014 Market Share | 2015/2014 Growth |
| 1. Xerox Group* | 20,595 | 50.6% | 19,965 | 53.0% | 3.2% |
| 2. Ricoh Group** | 8,492 | 20.9% | 6,447 | 17.1% | 31.7% |
| 3. Konica Minolta Group*** | 6,587 | 16.2% | 5,760 | 15.3% | 14.4% |
| 4. Canon Group**** | 2,775 | 6.8% | 3,334 | 8.8% | -16.8% |
| 5. HP Inc. | 946 | 2.3% | 1,017 | 2.7% | -7.0% |
| Others | 1,279 | 3.1% | 1,181 | 3.1% | 8.3% |
| Total | 40,674 | 100.0% | 37,704 | 100.0% | 7.9% |
| Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Production Printer Tracker, March 2016 | |||||
More Resources
- February 2016: Slight Dip in Profits for Ricoh’s Nine Months; Strong Sales of Production Printers
- December 2015: Global Production-Printer Shipments Near Double-Digit Growth in Third-Quarter 2015, Reports IDC
- August 2015: IDC: Worldwide Shipments for Production Printers up 9.4 Percent in Second Quarter
- May 2015: IDC: Positive Gains for Worldwide Production-Printer Market; Xerox is Leader
- March 2015: Worldwide Production-Print Market Enjoys Double-Digit Growth in Fourth-Quarter 2014