The combined printer, copier and multifunctional product (MFP) shipments market in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) totaled 23.4 million units, an increase of 5.8 per cent in the first half of 2007 compared with the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that the market in EMEA will reach almost 54 million units in 2007.
The trend that saw shipments of copiers and MFP outnumber shipments of printers in the second half of 2006 continued strongly in the first half of 2007. Copiers and MFP sales represented 53 per cent of the total market. “Sales in this segment were primarily driven by serial inkjet MFP sales that accounted for 41 per cent of the total print market,” said Cecile Drew, principal research analyst at Gartner.
In the serial inkjet market, Hewlett-Packard retained its position as market leader accounting for almost half of the total market share. Kodak made its debut in this market introducing two new MFP devices in the second quarter of 2007 in Germany and the UK. In the second quarter of 2007, Hewlett-Packard introduced its first new Egdeline technology MFP devices. “These new products brought inkjet into the domain of departmental colour printing, allowing lower printing cost in the office and moving it into direct competition with Xerox and Canon,” Ms Drew added. “Hewlett-Packard has on several occasions made attempts to penetrate the corporate copier and MFP market, but with limited success. This time, the company has an attractive product portfolio to do well in this segment.”
In the page market, Samsung Electronics performed particularly well in the first half of 2007. “The company expanded its product portfolio with faster speed devices that would help it to compete with the leading players in the business segment. Continued strong performance in Eastern Europe helped the company close the gap on the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Canon and reach the No.2 position in the EMEA page market.
The trend that saw shipments of copiers and MFP outnumber shipments of printers in the second half of 2006 continued strongly in the first half of 2007. Copiers and MFP sales represented 53 per cent of the total market. “Sales in this segment were primarily driven by serial inkjet MFP sales that accounted for 41 per cent of the total print market,” said Cecile Drew, principal research analyst at Gartner.
In the serial inkjet market, Hewlett-Packard retained its position as market leader accounting for almost half of the total market share. Kodak made its debut in this market introducing two new MFP devices in the second quarter of 2007 in Germany and the UK. In the second quarter of 2007, Hewlett-Packard introduced its first new Egdeline technology MFP devices. “These new products brought inkjet into the domain of departmental colour printing, allowing lower printing cost in the office and moving it into direct competition with Xerox and Canon,” Ms Drew added. “Hewlett-Packard has on several occasions made attempts to penetrate the corporate copier and MFP market, but with limited success. This time, the company has an attractive product portfolio to do well in this segment.”
In the page market, Samsung Electronics performed particularly well in the first half of 2007. “The company expanded its product portfolio with faster speed devices that would help it to compete with the leading players in the business segment. Continued strong performance in Eastern Europe helped the company close the gap on the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Canon and reach the No.2 position in the EMEA page market.
