Consolidation within the industry, MPS growth and consumer preference of aftermarket consumables among 2013 predictions.
An article featured on Review Seeker (http://www.reviewseeker.com/article/2013-Print–Imaging-Industry-Predictions-2412767) discusses predictions for the print and imaging industry over the next year, with many trends that were made apparent last year continuing into 2013.
Firstly, it is predicted that consolidation within the industry will continue, with large companies expected to “go through mergers, takeovers and inevitably some will withdraw from the market altogether”. However, there is also expected to be a “rush to acquire software and services vendors who offer vertical and horizontal market solutions” in order to expand business to new customer types.
Also expected to continue is the rise of MPS and its evolution into a “managed workflow offering at the high end”. MPS suppliers are predicted to secure “soft revenues in the areas of consultancy, support and training” as well as increasing customisation of existing MPS services.
In addition, the article recognises the growing popularity of mobile printing, which it claims will become the norm as the ability to print anywhere from any device increases, citing HP as an example of a company that has increased its Public Print Locations to 30,000 sites worldwide and predicting that other companies will follow suit.
Perhaps most interesting is the article’s prediction that consumers will continue to seek out less-costly, third party consumables as an alternative to OEM brands, “increasing the challenge to printer manufacturers to secure their own aftermarket annuity stream”. It goes on to highlight the case of Dell, which recently acknowledged that non-original cartridges could be used in its printers without invalidating the warranty, (http://www.therecycler.com/posts/dell-pulls-own-statement-endorsing-remanufacturing/) and suggests that this could be the start of a trend for the near-future.
Finally, the article discusses the issue of decreasing paper use, predicting that this may well continue throughout the year as industry analysts forecast the rise of the paperless office, printers increasingly encourage users to print in duplex and the number of office workers remains low due to unemployment.