Global printer market shrinks 5.6% in Q2

The global printer market fell 5.6% year on year during the second quarter with just 22.2 million units shipped, IDC estimates.

Inkjet unit shipments fell 6.6% over the same period, with laser shipments down 3.5%. But colour laser multifunction printers and ink tank devices bucked the trend with 2% and 3.4% growth respectively.

HP maintained its lead in the overall market with an estimated 42.6% market share, and while unit shipments fell by 3.3% year on year to 9.4 million, this was the lowest decline among the top five vendors.

Second ranked Canon recorded total shipments of 4.2 million, representing an 18.8% market share, IDC said. But unit shipments fell by 10.8% year on year. Epson likewise reported a 7.2% decline in unit shipments to 3.8 million, but maintained its third place position with a 17.3% market share.

Brother was the only vendor among the top five to increase its market share year on year — from 7.8% to 7.9% — despite reporting a 3.5% decline in total shipments over the same period.

Rounding out the top five list, Kyocera maintained its 2% market share despite a 5.7% decline in total unit shipments.

The proportion of the market captured by other vendors increased from 11.2% to 11.4%, despite unit shipments collectively falling by 3.8%, IDC estimates.

Image courtesy IDC.