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2023: Global market growth of 4% to $5.12 billion
In 2023, sales of industrial printers in the world market reached $5.12 billion. This is about 4% more compared to 2022, when costs in this area were estimated at $4.93 billion. Industry trends are considered in the material Market Research Future, published at the end of October 2024.
The authors of the study attribute the positive market dynamics primarily to the increasing demand for high-quality printing in various sectors, including the commercial sphere, publishing and packaging. The observed trend is largely due to the constantly changing expectations of consumers for visually attractive and professionally produced printed materials. Companies are striving to stand out from competitors, which generates an increase in sales of advanced printing equipment.
Another significant driver is technological advances that expand the functionality of equipment and increase the efficiency of production processes. As well as reducing operating costs, innovations are expanding the range of industrial printers. Companies are looking to invest in state-of-the-art equipment that can adapt to changing market demands, thereby contributing to business growth and service diversification. The ongoing digital transformation of enterprises has an additional stimulating impact.
In 2023, the largest contribution to total sales was provided by the commercial printing sector with a result of $1.82 billion: this is due to the constant demand for high-quality printed products - from brochures to advertising materials. Next comes the label printing equipment, which provided about $1.2 billion. The publishing sector brought in $1.1 billion. Another $1 billion fell on the segment of packaging and transaction receipts (printing various notifications, account certificates, payment documents, tickets and coupons).
From a geographical point of view, North America leads with revenue of $2 billion at the end of 2023: this dominance is due to the development of advanced printing technologies and high demand from the commercial sector. This is followed by Europe with an estimate of $1.5 billion, and the Asia-Pacific region closes the top three with $1.2 billion. South America provided $0.2 billion, while the Middle East and Africa - $0.22 billion. The largest players in the world market are named:
- Lexmark;
- Impact;
- Brother;
- Sharp;
- Dataprint;
- HP;
- Panasonic;
- Ricoh;
- Oki Electric;
- Xerox;
- Epson;
- Canon;
- Konica Minolta;
- Kyocera.
The authors of the study highlight several key areas of application of industrial printers: retail, education, health care, production, etc. The retail sector makes a significant contribution due to the growing need for personalized marketing materials and advertising products. Educational organizations use industrial printers to print educational materials and administrative documentation. In health care, such a technique serves to print medical documents and certificates for patients. Production requires effective solutions for printing labels and manuals.
At the end of 2024, revenue in the global industrial printer market is estimated at $5.31 billion. Market Research Future analysts predict that in the future, the CAGR (average annual growth rate in complex percentages) will be 3.79%. Thus, by 2032, costs on a global scale could rise to $7.15 billion.[1]
2022: Global Industrial Printers Market Dips 12.9%
Global deliveries of industrial printers in 2022 decreased by 12.9% compared to the previous year. Such data are provided in the IDC report released on March 15, 2023.
Analysts say several factors have had a negative impact on the industry. These are economic instability, market uncertainties and restrictions in China associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. A decrease in the supply of industrial printing devices was recorded in almost all categories.
For much of the industrial printing market, China is a key manufacturing hub. Despite the fact that now there is a weakening of restrictions in the region due to COVID-19, throughout the main part of 2022, the PRC industry experienced difficulties, which resulted in a slowdown in the development of the global market as a whole. 2022 is a prime example of how active growth driven by digital enterprise transformation can be disrupted by macro events, said Tim Greene, research director at IDC's Hardcopy Solutions division. |
According to estimates, in 2022, shipments of industrial printers for large-format printing decreased by 12.9% compared to 2021. Shipments of clothing printing apparatuses (DTGs) fell 6.8% year-on-year due to declining demand outside North America. Sales of direct printing devices by volume (DTS) decreased by 5% compared to 2021, primarily due to a decrease in supplies in China and Western Europe. The segment of industrial textile printers for printing on fabrics in 2022 collapsed by 45% year-on-year: this is primarily due to a sharp decline in demand in the PRC. The sector of devices for printing labels and printing images on packages on an annualized basis decreased by about 5.4%.
If we consider the industry from a regional point of view, then sales in Central and Eastern Europe in 2022 decreased by 35%. This is due to the fact that many global suppliers have limited their activities in the region due to the current geopolitical situation. In addition, demand is negatively affected by high inflation, while companies are forced to limit equipment purchases due to financial difficulties. Shipments of industrial printers in China collapsed by 46% compared to 2021. Sales in North America (US and Canada) were little changed year-on-year. At the same time, demand in the regions of the Middle East and Africa rose by 25% in 2022 compared to 2021, and in the Asia-Pacific region (with the exception of Japan and China) an increase in shipments was recorded by about 10%.
If we consider only the last quarter of 2022, then the supply of industrial printers decreased by 11.6% compared to the same period in 2021 - to 78.5 thousand units. At the same time, in quarterly terms (compared with the third quarter of 2022), an increase of 1.9% was noted. IDC analysts emphasize that sales in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Western Europe, showed positive dynamics with double-digit growth in both regions in the fourth quarter of 2022. In the Middle East and Africa, shipments jumped 36% at the end of 2022 compared to the third quarter of the same year. At the same time, in China, supplies decreased by 21% quarterly, and in North America - by 6%. The largest demand on a global scale is industrial printers for large-format printing, which accounted for 95.4% of shipments of the total number of devices in unit terms.[2]
2021:17% market growth
Global deliveries of industrial printers in 2021 increased by more than 17% compared to the volume of one year ago. This was announced in March 2022 by IDC analysts.
They noted that the market in 2021 as a whole showed significantly higher results than in 2020, but some important segments, such as equipment for printing materials for exhibitions and conferences, have not yet recovered. Experts expect an improvement in indicators in 2022 amid high demand for products from these segments.
In 2021, in the assortment of manufacturers of printers for industrial printing, there was a shift in the side of cheaper models, as a result of which sales of equipment in monetary terms increased not so much as in kind. At the same time, IDC does not provide absolute indicators and market dynamics in dollars.
Shipments in the second half of the year were slower in most regions than in the first half of the year, says Tim Greene, director of research for the IDC printing device market. - We hear about problems supply chains with and stocks from many manufacturers around the world. Despite this, the volume of printer supplies in 2021 was much higher than in 2020. And, with the exception, North America the global market is still not back to pre-pandemic [coronavirus pandemic] COVID-19 levels. |
The highest growth rates of sales of industrial printers were recorded in Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa (CEMA) - there was an increase of more than 26%. In the Asia-Pacific region (including China), shipments were practically unchanged, and in Japan and North America there was a decline. In Western Europe, supplies of industrial printers increased by 14%, in the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East, Africa) they decreased by 12.5%.
Global shipments of widescreen printers increased 3.2%, according to IDC data. The segment of label printing equipment and packaging boxes during this time recorded an 11 percent decline, sales of textile printers increased by 10% and maintained strong results for the entire 2021.
The supply of devices for direct application of images on volumetric objects increased by 10%. In the segment of equipment for full-color printing on clothing, shipments decreased by 3.5%. Analysts attribute this decline to weakening demand for water-based film printers.
IDC analysts do not mention the largest manufacturers of industrial printers in their research. According to experts from Infinity Business Insights, the market leaders are companies, Xerox,, Epson,, HP Inc.,, Fujifilm Zebra Technologies Canon Konica Minolta Roland, Inca Digital, Xeikon and Xenni. However, the shares of these companies were not disclosed.
According to experts, the development of marketing strategies and the launch of all kinds of advertising campaigns serve as one of the driving forces in the industrial printer market. This creates a significant demand for personalized print content, which is served by commercial printing companies using digital printing technology.
Such technologies include variable data printing (VDP), which allows you to customize images, text and graphics for each printed piece of their content. The stable position of the industry of independent publications with small circulation leads to high demand for digital printing due to its advantages, such as order flexibility, optimized inventory handling and minimizing the time of publication of printed content on the market.[3]