According to new data from IDC, large format printer (LFP) shipments grew 3.5% in 2014 when compared to 2013 while revenues declined by less than 1%. Product mix changes and some very aggressive price promotions were responsible for the revenue declines.
"The fourth quarter is often the strongest quarter of the year for the wide format digital printer market in some segments and some geographies, particularly due to the aggressive promotion by major manufacturers and distributors," said Phuong Hang, program director at IDC. "Shipment growth is an important indicator for the overall wide format market because even though hardware revenue declined slightly, the vast majority of the decline came from inkjet products, and with inkjet products a great deal of revenue is driven by the consumption of supplies."
Hewlett-Packard (HP) finished 2014 as the global leader in the wide format market. HP's strong performance in the technical market and dominance in the Latex segment have driven growth in HP's market share both in the fourth quarter and for 2014 in total. Canon meanwhile maintained its number two position among wide format printer makers with 20% market share based on worldwide shipments.
Epson was the number three worldwide supplier to the wide format digital printer market in 2014 and is seeing growth in its new dye-sublimation and technical printers, said IDC.
