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Home Photo Printing in the U.S.: The Specialty Media Perspective

Introduction

InfoTrends recently released an extensive study on the Store Brand Imaging Supply market. This study provides research on OEM, store, and aftermarket branded inkjet cartridges, laser printer cartridges, copier supplies, and photo paper. From this study, InfoTrends has excerpted three standalone sections that focus on photo paper, inkjet supplies, and toner supplies.

Store Brand Imaging Supplies Study 2006- Photo Paper Edition, provides in-depth research and analysis on which brands people report using, which brands they expect to use in the future, and which stores or other resellers they typically use to acquire those products.

Photo Paper Buying Habits

According to the study, over 65% of photos are printed on specialty media, while only 32% are printed on commodity type paper. Respondents cited price and paper finish as the two attributes that most influenced their paper purchases, but the ultimate decision often came down to the information on the box and the lowest cost.

Figure 1: Influential Attribute Ratings for Photo Paper – Means

Among the 633 users who report using inkjet photo paper, 41% say that they most commonly purchase the Kodak brand. 26% report typically purchasing the HP brand. Although Kodak does not market inkjet printers, it has a very well-established name in film photography that has carried over to the digital photography market.

Our survey participants were also asked to specify all of the locations from which they had purchased photo paper in the past year. Overall, Wal-Mart was the most popular location, cited by 37% of respondents. The office superstores (Staples, Office Depot, and OfficeMax) followed. The study also revealed that Wal-Mart is the most popular location for purchasing inkjet cartridges.

Cartridge Consumption

According to the study, black cartridges are consumed more quickly than color cartridges because they are used on all types of images, including photographs and text documents. Most survey participants reported using between 2 and 9 black cartridges each year. On average, 22% of respondents reported using 2 cartridges each year while 20% used between 5 and 9 cartridges each year.

The results for color cartridges were similar to those for black cartridges when we considered color cartridge use as a ratio of total cartridge consumption. Most respondents reported using 2 color cartridges each year. Over half of the respondents that use 1 to 4 total (black and color) cartridges each year use 1 color cartridge, while 40% use 2 cartridges.

Figure 2: Color Cartridges Used per Year by Total Cartridge Consumption

35% of the respondents who use 5 to 8 total cartridges each year use 2 color cartridges, and another 43% use 3 cartridges. Half of those who use at least 9 total cartridges each year indicate using 5 to 9 color cartridges. Those respondents who use their printers for office applications tend to use more color cartridges than personal users, and this was the case for black cartridges as well.

The preceding is an excerpt from InfoTrends’ report entitled “Store Brand Imaging Study 2006 – Photo Paper Edition.” The complete document is available immediately. To learn more about the report or to make a purchase, visit our online store or contact Nicole Shown at +1 , ext. 207 or .

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