Market research by IDC found that shipments were “up narrowly” in the final quarter of 2016.
IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Tracker found that wide-format shipments and revenue “grew by more” than four percent year-over-year in 2016, with shipments in the CAD (computer-assisted design) and technical market growing 4.4 percent, and the “toner-based printer segment” also saw a “particularly strong performance”. In turn, graphics shipment increased 3.8 percent, with a “strong showing” from UV-curable, eco-solvent, latex and dye-sublimation machines.
In terms of OEMs, the top five “in terms of shipments” were HP Inc, Canon and Oce, Epson, Mimaki and Roland, with respective market shares of 25 percent, 12.1 percent, 7.6 percent, 5.7 percent and 5.1 percent. HP Inc “continues to lead” with what IDC called “leading if not dominant positions” in the CAD and latex segments, though its “overall share slipped” as “there was growth in areas like dye-sublimation” and in the Asia Pacific, “where HP is not as strong”.
However, its “share of revenue grew” as its PageWide XL and high-speed UV-curable printers “continue to do well”. Its shipment value was $264.94 million (€255.22 million) for the quarter for growth of 4.2 percent year-over-year, though its share fell 0.3 percent from 25.3 percent. For Canon and Oce combined, the two “maintained” second place due to a “push on toner-based systems” and their “leading position in UV-curable inkjet and highly-competitive aqueous inkjet printers”.
Both of these factors meant that it earned a “strong share in both the CAD and graphics markets”, with a 2.9 percent fall in market share from 15 percent to 12.1 percent year-over-year. In value terms, its shipments were worth $119.63 million (€113.33 million), a fall of 14.8 percent year-over-year. Epson next saw “solid growth in the dye-sublimation inkjet market and some recovery in the eco-solvent market late in the year”, but “continues to see declining shipments” in low-end aqueous inkjet.
Epson’s market share fell one percent year-over-year, but its shipment value grew 20.4 percent from 2015 to $75.01 million (€71.06 million). In fourth place, Mimaki was said to be “strong in the eco-solvent, dye-sublimation, and UV-curable inkjet printer markets”, losing 0.2 percent of market share year-over-year but gaining 10 percent in shipment value of $56.30 million (€53.33 million).
Finally, Roland came in fifth with “almost 30 percent share of the worldwide eco-solvent market”, seeing a fall in market share of 0.3 percent year-over-year and a 1.1 percent fall in shipment value to $50.1 million (€47.37 million). Other OEMs saw a combine market share of 44.6 percent and a shipment value of $440.83 million (€417.64 million) between them.
Tim Greene, Research Director of Hardcopy Solutions at IDC, commented: “The mix of printers continues to change as the technology and the needs of end users evolve. The need to invest in the latest technology, to expand their business, to improve their bottom line, and even just to remain competitive is one of the defining characteristics of the large format digital printing market.”