Inkjet News

Excerpt Lyra Report (At a Cross Roads: The Past, Present, and Future of Inkjet)

Desktop ink jet ink manufacturers must continuously innovate in a market that is largely stagnant and has rising costs. Their clients, including both OEM and aftermarket players, demand the latest in dye- and pigment-based ink technology at a time when cartridge SKUs are being introduced at an unprecedented pace. Ink manufacturers must always consider return-on-investment even though demand for ink jet products is questionable and the market features widespread fragmentation. However, in the midst of the uncertainty, there is a consensus among those in the industry that ink jet has a future and that innovators will benefit.

Overall, Lyra forecasts that total worldwide desktop bulk ink shipments will decline slightly between 2008 (32.2 million liters) and 2012 (29.3 million liters). Looking at the desktop ink market by region, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) is expected to remain the largest market in terms of volume. North America will continue to be the second largest market in terms of desktop ink shipments, but it will contract at the quickest rate between 2008 and 2012.

An interesting and important trend is the slow growth of desktop inks in the emerging markets of Latin America and Asia. Although printers are being sold, consumers in China, India, Eastern Europe and South America have not adopted ink jet printing at nearly the same levels as those in developed markets. One obvious reason for the slow acceptance is the high cost of ink jet consumables. In recent years, Epson and HP have both expanded their ink jet product lines designed for low per capita income countries. Initial sales figures indicate that relatively low-priced OEM ink cartridges are driving sales in places such as China. Other factors for tepid growth are not unique to developing regions. Laser hardware is cost competitive and durable, and most consumers do not require a printer outside of the office.

Ink jet printer manufacturers often tout the benefits of their color pigment inks for photo printing. However, it is possible that office printing will be responsible for driving significant growth in the market for color pigmented inks in upcoming years. As a result of technological improvements, pigment inks can now be optimized for a wide range of home, photo, and office applications. Pigment-based inks are expected to capture a greater share of ink jet ink volume and eventually become the dominant ink type. As a segment, pigment-based ink shipments (black and color) are projected to contract only slightly between 2008 (15.5 million liters) and 2012 (15.1 million liters). As with pigments, developers have overcome many of the earlier limitations of dye-based inks. Still, dye ink volume and market share is expected to shrink from 52 percent in 2008 to 49 percent in 2012.

Filed under: Industry News | Tagged: cartridge, dye ink, inkjet consumables, laser, lyra, oem inkjet cartridge, photo printing, pigment based inks, pigment inks |