NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ - Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, United Kingdom, 2011/04/04 - The International Data Corporation (IDC) has released a report detailing increased sales for all of the major print vendors in 2010.

Globally the printing market reported a 7% year over year growth and shipped 36.5 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010 (4Q10) which is the highest since the fourth quarter of 2007.

"After experiencing one of the most difficult economic periods in recent memory, the worst is over. It’s time for the market to return to normal. For 2011, we anticipate that the recovery will continue at a slow and steady pace. The return to growth will not be uniform across all countries and segments; developed regions are expected to show gradual or steadier activity, while developing regions are projected to show faster and higher growth levels."

Multi-function inkjet printers have continued to rise in popularity and now account for 67% of devices worldwide and that is an increase of 4 points over the previous quarter. Laser printers shipped approximately 11 million units in 4Q10 and is the highest number of units shipped in a quarter ever, surprisingly 83% (9 million) of those units sold were monochrome laser printers.

The biggest 3 companies in the market (HP, Canon and Epson) now possess just over 75% of the market between them.

HP experienced a massive 10% year over year growth and has gone from owning 40.5% of the market to 42.5%. Hewlett Packard reported gains in all areas except from in Western Europe.

Canon had their highest quarterly shipments ever but still came a distant second to HP with an 18.8% share of the market, a 2 point increase over the previous quarter. The vendor also experienced double digit growth in their laser unit shipments which resulted in a 24% year over year increase.

Epson maintain their number 3 spot experiencing a 2% year over year growth by shipping 5 and a half million units. Despite these increases, Epson actually had a 2 point drop in their market share in 4Q10 to 15.2%. Canada and the United States are still Epson's best performing regions.

With all of the major players in the marker experiencing notable growth can we look forward to cheap ink cartridges in the future?

Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, March 9, 2011.

Agency / Source: Consume IT Ltd

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