(Weymouth, MA) June 11, 2003... CAP Ventures' research indicates that overall facsimile-based single-function and multifunction unit placements in the United States declined by 3.8%, from 4,943,800 units in 2001 to 4,758,000 units in 2002.

Although the U.S. facsimile market continues to decline in terms of year-over-year placements, some subcategories are projected to experience healthy growth through 2007. Additional details related to facsimile market research are now available in a report entitled Preliminary Year 2002 U.S. Fax Placements. The report provides a view of facsimile-based devices by vendor and CAP Ventures user environment. The three environments are personal, mid-volume workgroup, and high-volume workgroup.  

Personal
Common features applicable to all devices residing in the personal environment include .5MB of memory (often upgradeable) and 200 sheets or less paper capacity as the standard configuration. Overall, the 2002 personal facsimile placement activity experienced a significant decline of -10.8% over 2001. The majority of the decline is attributed to the continued consolidation of single-function devices as well as increased fax capabilities on copier-based and printer-based technologies.

Mid-Volume Workgroup 
The Mid-Volume Workgroup category consists of devices that have memory ranging from .5MB to 1MB and a paper capacity ranging from 201 - 499 sheets as the standard configuration. In 2002, the Mid-Volume Workgroup experienced a 13.9% increase in placements over 2001. With several new laser and inkjet introductions in this category, end-users are able to realize cost savings in device and supply categories.   

High-Volume Workgroup 
High-Volume devices have 1MB+ memory and 500+ sheets or more paper capacity as standard. Within the High-Volume Workgroup, 2002 fax placements experienced a decline of 10.7% over 2001. This decline is primarily due to the increased utilization of fax functionality on copier and printer-based multifunction products in the workgroup.

CAP Ventures' complete market forecast provides statistics through 2007 and will be available later this quarter. It will include placements, installed base, and hardware revenue.

The complete placement summary is available immediately to clients of CAP Ventures' Digital Peripherals Consulting Service. To learn more about these reports or to make a purchase, please contact Alison Hipp at , ext. 126 or via e-mail at .