Worldwide Large Format Printer Shipments up Slightly in Q1 2016

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

The International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Trackerindicated that global large format printer (LFP) shipments grew 1.2% year over year in Q1 2016 (1Q16) while hardware revenue grew by almost 7%.

"We see large format print service providers investing in new technologies that they can use to grow their businesses or drive efficiencies through their operation," said Tim Greene, research director, U.S. Large Format Printer Tracker. "Growth of single-pass large format printers in the CAD/technical segment and alternative ink technologies in the graphics business made up for declines in more mature market segments."

Segment Highlights

• Shipments in the large format CAD/Technical printer market segment grew 1.6% year over year in 1Q16 while hardware revenue grew by 13.2%. The HP PageWide and KIP 800-series color printers drove much of that revenue growth.
• On the large format graphics side total shipments grew by just 0.6% year over year in 1Q16 while revenue grew 2.8% over the same period. The durable graphics segment fueled that growth as shipments of large format printers that serve the durable graphics business grew by over 9.5% worldwide in 1Q16 versus 1Q15, continuing a trend from 2014 and 2015, and led by UV-curable inkjet, Latex, eco-solvent, and dye-sublimation inkjet printers.

Vendor Highlights

The top five suppliers worldwide in 2015 all kept their place in Q1 2016. The top five suppliers, in order were HP Inc, Canon (when combined with Oce), Seiko Epson, Roland DG, and Mimaki.

• HP had nearly twice the total market share of any other vendor in the large format business overall due to its dominance in the large format CAD/technical and Latex segments.
• Canon, when combined with Oce, grew its share of total large format printer shipments from 18.8% in 1Q15 to over 20% in 1Q16 to maintain its number two position worldwide.
• Epson is transforming its large format printer product line, launching new eco-solvent printers in 4Q15 that have helped the company grow its share of large format printer revenue in 1Q16. However, the decline in the company's low-end aqueous inkjet printers have reduced shipment market share in 2016.
• Roland DG was the fourth-ranked supplier of large format printers worldwide in terms of total shipments in Q1 2016, but remains the top supplier in the durable graphics printer segment.
• Mimaki was the number five supplier of large format printers worldwide in 1Q16 and grew its shipments and share of the market with the launch of new printers in the UV, eco-solvent, and dye-sublimation printers in 4Q15 and 1Q16.

Other Highlights

• North American shipments in the CAD/technical market were up almost 13% year over year in 1Q16 while shipments were soft in the large format graphics segment, down 11% from Q1 2015.
• Mutoh continued on its hot streak, finishing 1Q16 just outside of the top five vendors and growing both its shipments and revenue in the quarter.