Printer Market Global Production, Growth, Share, Demand and Applications Forecast to 2030

The printer market can be broadly classified into dot-matrix, inkjet and laser printers based on the technology used. These technologies are used across corporate, enterprise and consumer printing solutions. In the past, the printers market in Africa has experienced a surge in demand for color prints. The shift from black and white printing to color printing has aided the growth of inkjet and laser printers markets, and in turn, has been boosting the growth of overall printers market. According to the African Development Bank, more than one third of African countries have a GDP growth rate of more than 6%. This growth is attracting printer manufacturers globally to the emerging economies in Africa, as the global demand for printers faces volatility owing to the market saturation and rise of digital products and media, especially, in the developed economies.

The printer market in Africa is primarily driven by increase in demand for multifunction printers (MFP) in corporate, small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and government end-user segments. Additionally, MPS and document solutions offered by vendors is also one of the factors propelling market growth. The printer market in Africa was valued at USD 2,300.0 million in 2012 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.8% during the forecast period. However, shift in workflow from hard copy to electronic format is a major factor inhibiting growth of the market.

Laser printer was the largest segment by revenue share in 2012, followed by inkjet printers in the Africa printer market. Laser printing has emerged as the key technology being used in MFPs and increase in demand for MFPs in the corporate segment is leading to the growth of laser printer market in this region. Additionally, low cost of laser printers is further fueling the demand for these printers in Africa.

South Africa was the largest market for printers in 2012 and held a 20.8% share of the total African printers market. Growth in the South African market is mainly attributed to the increase in demand for managed print services along with MFP and large format printers over the forecast period. Botswana is experiencing significant growth across industries including telecom, banking and finance and is also expected to observe increasing growth for printer market owing to the increasing deployment of laser color printers and MFPs across these sectors.

The printer market in Africa is consolidated with few market players including Brother Industries, Ltd., Canon, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Development Co. LP, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Seiko Epson Corp among others.