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Universal Copier/Printers: The Next Big Thing

Introduction
 
InfoTrends/CAP Ventures projects that the worldwide revenue from workgroup Universal Copier/Printer (UCP) equipment, services, and supplies will approach $7 billion and experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.6% between 2003 and 2008. Unit placements will also increase at an impressive 52.9% CAGR over the same time period.

InfoTrends/CAP Ventures defines a UCP as a multifunctional device that cost-effectively copies and prints in monochrome as well as color with only a marginal capital premium over comparable black & white-only devices.

UCPs Gaining Worldwide Momentum

InfoTrends/CAP Ventures believes UCPs are the single most important new class of products for the office workgroup. In many respects, UCPs are the final evolution of office output devices. The industry has made the transition from analog to digital copiers, from impact to non-impact printers, and from single-function to multifunctional devices. All that remains is the transition from black & white to color. UCPs pave the path towards this final transition.

In a recent InfoTrends/CAP Ventures study entitled Universal Office Copiers & Printers: Worldwide Market Opportunities and Product Requirements, 978 office equipment decision-makers across North America, Europe, and Japan were surveyed to determine customer behavior and interest in new office printing and copying equipment. The interviews revealed that 71% of the respondents had a moderate or high interest in the UCP concept.

As you can see from the figure below, 79% of respondents from North America expressed an interest in UCP devices, followed by 71% of respondents in Europe and 46% of those in Japan.

Figure 1: Interest in Universal Copier/Printer Concept by Region

Benefits such as lower equipment and operating costs, higher speeds, better paper handling, and the ability to print documents with black & white as well as color pages are driving the popularity of these devices.

Several major vendors have already begun introducing products for the emerging UCP market. Customers are quite interested in these devices, and appear poised to purchase them instead of traditional black & white machines. The market for workgroup color printer-based MFPs (color printers with copier functionality) is emerging as well, and a variety of vendors are currently offering products to meet this demand.

The preceding is an excerpt from CAP Ventures’ multi-client study entitled Universal Office Copiers & Printers: Worldwide Market Opportunities and Product Requirements. The complete document is available immediately. To learn more about the report or to make a purchase, please contact Alison Hipp at , ext. 126 or .