China’s Laser Printer Market Is Trending Towards Color, Mobile and Smart Operation

A study by ccidnet.com claims that color, mobile intelligence, and smart operation will be the significant trends, going forward, for China’s laser printer market.

As reported, laser printers have replaced dot matrix devices and inkjet printers are now the mainstream products among office supplies. As the market grows mature, the endogenous driving force of the laser printer sector has been failing. However, with the introduction and application of intelligent technologies, new opportunities are emerging in China’s laser printer market.

The demand for color has been increasing, driving the growth of color printers upward. The shipment of color laser printers in China over the past 3 years has registered an annual compound growth of 20%, which is much higher than the combined growth of monochrome and color laser printers. Also, the share of laser printers in the market has increased from 4.8% in 2010 to 7.1% in 2013. Laser printer manufacturers have been investing heavily in R&D and marketing with the result that the variety of products being introduced is growing.

Currently, the market penetration of color laser printers in China is much lower than that in Europe and the USA, so there remains a huge gap for development in this market sector. However, manufacturers are confronted with quite a few problems. First, there is an urgent need to bring down product price and to reduce the cost of a color print. Next, there is a significant need to enhance printer performance, printing speed, and image quality.

Also, there is an increasing demand for a mobile work force. This trend is boosting the demand for mobile printing. A recent CCID survey reveals that 66% of the respondents are willing to sacrifice part of their income for more flexibility in employee mobility. The demand for mobility is also prompting the integration of new technologies, such as: cloud computing, mobile intelligence and a greater capacity for data in the printing device.

As the basic performance indicators—like product quality and printing speed—have been improved and the price has drastically dropped over recent years, the focus has been gradually turning to smart operation and management as well as greening and security. Hence, smart  technology is becoming the major means to improve user experience and user engagement. Canon’s 5Smart App. is one of the most popular solutions as it incorporates smart color technology, smart printing, scanning, and smart management to achieve competitive differentiation.