The adoption of low-end consumer-range printer installations in business is gradually picking up as more and more vendors are setting the competition ablaze. It will be interesting to observe that in the consumables domain sales are likely to increase with the rising acceptance of specialty media, such as high-quality papers for photos and ink cartridges.
p____p Although India is a value-for-money market, it has been witnessed in the last few months that the market has finally started pushing volumes. While the potential has been recognized by most vendors, these manufacturers are keenly eyeing the coveted pie of the market share, and are been further encouraged by the increase in PC penetration.
p____p The market is finally moving on from being a monochrome market with a rapid growth in the adoption of color printers. The SME sector is the prime target of most printer and compatible manufacturers as vendors believe that the forces and trends that are driving this market will give a boost to the consumable business.
p____p Most vendors of consumables have expressed their expectations of good growth in the future. Canon expects its consumables business to grow four times in the coming years. HP, which has been a forerunner of specialty media, is ever hopeful of better business. While Samsung is a new entrant to the printing business, it is confident of growing its business over the next three years to 45 percent.
p____p Rising compatible manufacturer NCR Systemedia is actively seeking to appoint distributors and organize roadshows to spread its gospel of quality consumables at lesser than OEM price, as other “generic”, “re-manufactured”, and “new compatible” inkjet printer cartridges and laser toner cartridges seem set to creep deeper into the printer accessories market.
p____p Although the subject of compatible consumables has never quite been a favorite topic of OEM printer manufacturers, an increasing number of resellers are venturing on this new ground with the promise of better margins. While vendors reiterate that by using compatibles the consumer loses the vendor warranty, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. It will be exciting to watch the consumable market boom as printer companies and compatible cartridge manufacturers set up aggressive programs to hike business.
p____p In the days to come resellers will need to understand that latest printers and futuristic MFDs will do more than just print. These will provide resellers an opportunity to sell a whole range of work flow solutions and services.
p____p Printers and cameras have now progressed to the point where it is no longer necessary to have an intervening PC. Cameras will be directly attached to the printer, or the camera’s memory card can be inserted into the printer. For resellers, this would mean bundling printers with cameras, while providing additional sales independently of PC upgrades.
p____p As these new developments take shape, with new ranges and types of consumables continuing to appear, from specialty paper for photo printing to new ink formulations for higher resolution and improved color reproduction, resellers will need to watch this area closely.