UK laser printer market analysis - Essay Example

UK laser printer market analysis Introduction “The world printing machinery and supplies industry is expected to exceed $21 billion by according to Global Industry Analysts” (Printer and Copier Industry: Market Research Reports, Statistics and Analysis, 2014). The case of UK is not an exception. Strong growth prospects are recorded in UK’s printing market in recent times. However, the major reason for these growth prospects of printing industry in UK is the strong growth in the inkjet printing industry rather than the laser printing industry.

Many reports have shown that UK’s laser printing industry is not growing as strongly as other segments in printing industry. This paper analyses the UK’s laser printing industry trends in recent times. UK laser printer market analysisHP is the major player in the UK laser printing industry with a market share of 39% in 2011, followed by Canon 19%, Epson 12% and Samsung 5% (Doidge, 2011). Even though Samsung’s market share is the lowest, statistics show that the growth rate of Samsung in UK laser industry is more than that of other companies.

HP, Canon and Epson have suffered major setbacks in recent times while Samsung was able to maintain steady progress. The printing industry trends in UK are fluctuating rapidly in recent times. Fleur Doidge (2011) pointed out that “UK printer sales slid 15 per cent in unit terms during the second quarter of 2011, compared with the same period a year ago – with lasers the only segment to post growth”. Inkjet sales in the UK have been decreased substantially in 2011. Inkjet printer industry has lost 17 per cent market share by volume in 2011 (Doidge 2011) even though this loss was lesser compared to the loss suffered by other printing industry.

In other words, laser printing industry was the only printing industry that was able to grow in 2011. However, the trend has been changed in 2012. In 2012, the inkjet printing industry in the UK has grown by 12.1% whereas the laser printer sales have only slightly increased, but overall inkjet sales have gone up a full 15%. (The European Printer Market Is Growing, 2012). The arrival of touchscreen mobile devices helped the printing industry in the UK to grow substantially in 2012. It should be noted that touchscreen mobile devices are mostly used by teenagers who are interested in using cheap printing machineries.

Since laser printers are expensive than inkjet printers, teenagers usually prefer inkjet printers rather than laser printers. That is why the inkjet printing industry has grown more than laser printing industry in 2012 in the UK. Sam Trendall (2012) pointed out that the shipments in the UK declined 16.1 per cent year on year during Q2 2012, with the laser printer segment contracting by almost a third during. Even though the other segments of printing industry have not faced many troubles, laser printing industry has suffered a lot during this period.

The scenario has not changed much in 2014 also. In the first quarter of 2014, the HCP (Hardcopy Peripherals) market has increased by 22.4 percent in the UK, with 32.1 percent year-on-year growth in the inkjet market. At the same time, Laser markets contracted 1.4 percent during the same period (Western European HCP market continues growth, 2014). ConclusionsLaser printing industry in the UK is not growing significantly in recent times even though all the other printing segments are on the verge of growth.

Higher prices of the laser printers compared to the inkjet printers seem to be a reason for the undergrowth of laser printing industry in the UK. References Doidge, F. 2011. Lasers sharp against printer sales decline [Online] available at: http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2107927/lasers-sharp-printer-sales-decline[Accessed 11 June 2014]Printer and Copier Industry: Market Research Reports, Statistics and Analysis. 2014. [Online] available at: http://www.reportlinker.com/ci02068/Printer-and-Copier.

html [Accessed 11 June 2014]The European Printer Market Is Growing, 2012. [Online] available at: http://www.digitalversus.com/printer/european-printer-market-growing-n31781.html[Accessed 11 June 2014]Trendall, S. 2012. UK print market clobbered in Q2. [Online] available at: http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2198416/uk-print-market-clobbered-in-q2[Accessed 11 June 2014]Western European HCP market continues growth. 2014. The Recycler. May 15, 2014. [Online] available at: http://www.therecycler.

com/posts/tag/market-data/ [Accessed 11 June 2014]