Worldwide Large Format Printer Shipments Down Through the 1H19

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

New data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Tracker shows that large format printer shipments declined in the second quarter of 2019 (2Q19), continuing the decline from the first quarter of the year.

"The market has been soft overall as some of the new technology expected to drive investment in large format printing equipment on a worldwide basis has been delayed," said Tim Greene, research director, U.S. Large Format Printer Tracker. "We're seeing softer than expected shipments in some of the regions and in some of the technologies where we've seen growth in prior quarters. Better than expected eco-solvent and UV inkjet shipments were not enough to offset shrinking sales of some aqueous and toner-based large format printers."

Regional Highlights:

Modest shipment growth in Western Europe was offset by significant declines in North America and the Asia/Pacific region.

Japan was essentially flat compared to the first half of 2018 while the Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Latin American regions all showed very modest declines.

Vendor Highlights:

There was no movement among the top five large format printer companies in terms of shipments with HP, Canon, Epson, Mimaki, and Roland all maintaining their positions on a worldwide basis.

HP leads the large format CAD/technical market, which has been soft in terms of shipments through the first half of the year, but it has seen a slowdown in the growth of its Latex printers. HP launched HP Stitch dye-sublimation inkjet printers in the first part of 2019 to participate in the growing large format dye-sublimation market.

Canon is a strong player in the CAD/technical market as well through its imagePROGRAF and the Oce line of technical printers. Canon's Arizona and Colorado are strong products in the UV printer market.

Epson is a leader in the dye-sublimation segment as well as on the low-end of the aqueous inkjet market. Epson's eco-solvent line continues to grow its share on a worldwide basis.

Mimaki continues to grow its portfolio with strong offerings in the dye-sublimation and UV markets to replace some of the share of the eco-solvent segment.

Roland DG is a leader in large format eco-solvent and has expanded its portfolio with more UV, dye-sublimation, and DTG products.

Other Highlights:

• Large format UV shipments are almost 1,000 units ahead of their worldwide pace after the first half of 2019. 
• Large format eco-solvent inkjet printer shipments have shown resiliency and are ahead of the pace of shipments through the first half of the year, although much of that comes from vendors based in the Asia/Pacific region.

About IDC Trackers

IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly excel deliverables and on-line query tools.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, data and marketing services company.