The new Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker from International Data Corporation’s (IDC) highlights the impact of COVID-19 on Large Format Printer and Industrial Print Markets, showing global industrial printer and large format printer shipments declined sharply in Q1 2020, with the Asia-Pacific region the worst hit. But as markets recover, IDC forecasts improved supply chains and new signage and graphics applications.
"While shipments and revenues have declined in the large format printer market over the past two years, both 2018 and 2019 were growth years in the industrial inkjet market," said Tim Greene, research director, Hardcopy Solutions at IDC.
"Large format printer shipments declined 32% worldwide in Q1 2020 as COVID-19 impacted both supply chains and demand cycles, and as the market has shifted towards higher-end solutions. The year also got off to a slow start with weak results in the industrial printer segments.
“As the markets recover, IDC expects to see shipment growth for the full year as more companies worldwide adopt smarter and more sustainable supply chains, new signage and graphics applications are developed, and more print service providers seek new revenue opportunities."
Industrial Printer Segment Highlights for 2019
The industrial printer market, as defined by IDC, generated $5 billion in hardware revenue to manufacturers worldwide.
Label & Packaging unit shipments grew 6.0% year over year in 2019.
Industrial Textile printer shipments grew nicely in 2019, increasing by more than 11% worldwide year over year.
Total shipments in the Direct-to-Garment (DTG) segment grew about 2% worldwide year over year in 2019.
- Total shipments in the Direct-to-Shape (DTS) segment grew by about 2.5% worldwide year over year.
Regional Analysis
The COVID-19 crisis had the greatest impact across the Asia/Pacific region in Q1 2020 with the total value of industrial printer shipments declining 55.9% year over year. The value of shipments declined 31.5% year over year in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. The Americas region showed the most resiliency, but shipment value still declined 17.6% in Q1 2020.
Notes:
The Large Format Printer segment includes single-function printers as well as multifunctional printers (MFPs).
The Label & Packaging segment includes printers that can print primary and secondary label stock, as well as devices that can print onto folding cartons, flexible packaging, and directly onto corrugated materials or liners.
The Industrial Textile segment includes high-speed printers designed for printing fabrics.
The DTG segment includes T-shirt printers.
The DTS segment includes small format (<24" wide) printers designed for applying graphics or decoration onto objects.
More here: Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker
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International Data Corporation (IDC) is a 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.
