An executive from a Polish MPS company has said rising use of MFPs and increasingly cost-conscious businesses are the reason for the recent declines in sales.
Writing for WBJ, Michal Gembal, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Arcus SA, said the growing availability of MFPs means many clients are now using one device rather than a separate copier and printer, naturally leading to a decline in sales. He was responding to statistics released by Context in June which indicated that unit shipments in EMEA had fallen eight percent in 1Q2015.
Another reason is that a smaller number of larger devices are becoming a more popular solution for businesses, who prefer them over having many small printers which are “expensive to use due to their low quality”.
The larger devices are “more expensive to buy”, but “they are much faster, more efficient, and offer advanced functionalities, such as secure or follow-me print”. Gembal said the initial investment is soon returned in low consumables expenditures and “lower” servicing costs, with developing faults also less likely.
He also presented statistics to shows that print volume is not decreasing, with Convergence Consulting showing that an average office worker gets through around 10,000 sheets, or 20 reams, each year, while Gartner indicated that printout volume is growing 11 percent on an annual basis, with black and white increasing nine percent and colour 19 percent. A “growing number” of Arcus clients outsource printing, paying the company per printed page, confirming that print volume is not falling.
Addressing the question of why digitalisation has not significantly reduced print volume, Gembal said that the number of data collection systems is growing along with the volume of data being collected, and that “although many analysis processes are done digitally, at a certain stage printouts are required, e.g. corporate reports to the board”.
Public administration rules will require further printing, as many individuals want to have a piece of paper stamped rather than just processing their documents electronically. Printout numbers are also growing because of “their growing quality”, with the more affordable prices of colour laser printouts allowing smaller businesses to access high quality colour printing.