Large Format Printer Shipments Up 6% in the First Half of 2017

IDC found that large format printer (LFP) shipments increased by 6% year over year in the first half of 2017 (1H17) while printer revenue grew by almost 2% when compared to the first half of 2016.

"These results illustrate the continued growth in the large format market," said Tim Greene, research director, Hardcopy Solutions. "Also that manufacturers and dealers are incentivizing new printer shipments with discounts, bundles, and aggressive promotions. Recovery in technology categories like eco-solvent and toner-based printers have run counter to some of the market trends over the past few quarters to create bit of a surprisingly strong second quarter.

Shipments in the large format CAD/Technical printer market segment grew by over 2% in 1H17, driven by strong growth in single-pass CAD inkjet printers in the large format toner-based printer segment. Shipments on the graphics side were up by 10% in the first half of the year with a strong showing from UV-curable, Latex, and dye-sublimation printers.

The first half of 2017 saw strong growth in the North American market with shipments up by 16% driven primarily by large format aqueous inkjet printers. Latin America was another growth market through the first half of 2017 fueled by strong shipments of large format dye-sublimation inkjet printers.

There was no movement among the top five large format printer suppliers in terms of shipments. In the first half of 2017. The top five companies were HP, Canon, Seiko Epson, Roland, and Mimaki.

HP continued to lead the large format digital printer market with over 34% of shipments and almost 24% of revenue when all equipment categories are combined. Canon-Oce maintained its number two position among large format printer manufacturers and grew its share of the total market to over 20% of total shipments.

Seiko Epson was the third-largest large format printer supplier in terms of shipments worldwide. Epson saw growth in its eco-solvent and dye-sublimation inkjet printer shipments. Roland was the number 4 large format printer company. In the first half of 2017 Roland grew its UV printer business by almost 75% over its 1H 2016 levels. Mimaki was the number five supplier of large format printers worldwide through the first half of 2017 and also saw considerable growth in its UV printer shipments.