Second quarter is the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in worldwide large-format printer (LFP) shipments.
IDC released data from its Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Tracker for 2Q2014, with the LFP market recording year-over-year growth of 5.3 percent as more than 77,000 units were shipped during the quarter, driven by “solid results” by top vendors HP, Canon and Epson. The market’s value however declined slightly by 0.5 percent to $786 million (€596 million).
For the second consecutive quarter, the top three regional markets – Western Europe, the US and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) – posted year-over-year growth of 11.1 percent, 6.2 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.
The technical segment saw a growth of 2.1 percent to 46,000 units and remained the largest application segment of the LFP market, with 60 percent of the market share. All regions, with the exception of Latin America, experienced unit growth in this segment during the quarter.
Meanwhile the graphics application of the LFP market was described as “a driver of growth opportunity” as it grew 10.3 percent to more than 31,000 units. All regions except Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMA) experienced year-over-year growth in this segment, with Western Europe posting the greatest gains of 23.4 percent in unit and 14.6 percent in shipment value.
In terms of vendors, HP remained the global leader with more than 30,700 units shipped and a market share of 39.9 percent. It recorded a year-over-year increase of 7.4 percent, helped by positive gains in the technical and graphic segments, which grew 5.7 percent and 18 percent respectively. The OEM also continued to lead the technical market as it achieved almost double the amount of units shipments than its next competitor, Canon. In the graphics segment, HP maintained its second place behind Epson.
Ranked second in the LFP market was Canon, with more than 17,000 units shipped and a 22.6 percent market share. The company grew 5.8 percent year-over-year, driven by gains in both the technical and graphics segments of 3.5 percent and 13.5 percent respectively.
Strengthening its position in third place was Epson, which saw the most growth out of the top five vendors at 12 percent year-over-year as more than 15,200 units were shipped. The OEM also increased its market share by more than one point compared to a year ago as it reached 19.8 percent. The growth was attributed to “significant” growth in the graphics application segment of 16.5 percent.
In fourth and fifth places were Roland and Ricoh, both of which saw year-over-year declines of 2.9 percent and 11.7 percent respectively. Roland recorded a market share of 3.6 percent and shipped 2,700 units during the quarter, while Ricoh held a 2.5 percent market share.
Phuong Hang, Programme Directorfor Worldwide Large Format Printer Tracker at IDC, commented: “IDC expects the aqueous colour inkjet market to grow at a single digit rate over the next two years. The technical segment of the large format printer market is the real driver of growth opportunity. The gains in the technical segment can be attributed to improved speeds and image quality.”