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MFPs: High adoption rate among SMBs & large businesses

The way users access, create, store, and consume content is changing. And the printer vendors has kept a sharp eye on this transformation over the years. Demand for MFPs is expected to catapult as Indian enterprises of all sizes embrace the model of cost optimization and are under pressure to control their cost and simultaneously watch over what is being printed. As MPS becomes the predominant trend, printing will become centralized and networked thereby resulting in further adoption of MFPs.

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the bright way to

Scanner, Printer & Copier

Over the years, the printing industry has grown in all parts of the globe. The advent of TV and Internet has not affected the growth of and requirement for printing professionals. The industry has made giant strides in recent times in improving its machinery in terms of the scope, technology and speed. Computers and electronics have invaded all the departments of printing, improving quality and speed of the jobs executed with the consequent enhancement of costs enormously. In fact, the arrival of computers has complemented the printing business and has played a vital role in increasing its status as a clean profession.

One of the great buzzwords of the early twenty-first century has been 'convergence', the trend for functions that would have in the past required their own device coming together in a single piece of technology that can seemingly do everything. Mobile phones are perhaps the most obvious example of this shift in the consumer electronics market, with modern smartphones now able to function as everything from a digital music player or games system to an e-book reader or satellite navigation kit. In other areas too, whether its games consoles or multifunction printers, convergence is making our lives easier and less cluttered.

Thanks to convergence, the average office printer now contains multiple functions - printing, scanning, copying, fax, digital document sending and paper stapling and stacking - that only ten would have each required their own expensive device. Even small home office printers now contain the three core functions - print, copy and scan - in a single device for a modest outlay.

One of the major advantages of convergence in printers for businesses, especially in small offices, is that multifunction printers take up far less space than three separate machines, let alone five of them. With devices like business-grade photocopiers often having an enormous footprint, using a multifunction printer can help free up space for an extra desk, a small meeting area, tea and coffee-making facilities or simply just allow your employees more breathing room.

According to Gartner, the combined serial inkjet and page printer, copier and multifunction product (MFP) market in India totaled 6,81,142 units in Q4 2010, a 10% increase YoY. HP, Canon, Epson and Samsung continued to be the top four vendors accounting for 94% of the Indian printer market in Q4 2010. HP remained the leader with a market share of 55.7% while Canon followed with 24.6%. HP maintained its leadership position in the A4 MFP market with a 60% share followed by Canon with 20%. Samsung grew 34% in the A4 MFP segment to account for 7% of the market.

In the A3 flatbed copier MFP segment, Toshiba led the market with 31%, followed by Canon with 21%. Toshiba grew 136% with a continuous focus on the government s e c t o r w h e r e a s C a n o n g r e w 2 3 % .

The page printer market grew by only two percent. HP which leads the page printer

market with a 46% share recorded only 1% growth while Canon, with a 40% share, grew by 20%. Samsung recorded a decline of 28% to hold a 10% share in this segment.

Key Trend in Indian Printer market

The Printer market in India is slated for a commendable expansion plan, as many new brands are foraying into the printer market. Konica Minolta and Dell made a recent foray into the Indian printer industry despite the dominance of the established giants like HP and Canon. Dell a well known PC brand had previously ventured into smartphone businesses with ‘Venue’. It now forays into printing devices with printers for home offices and small to medium establishments.

There has been an ever-growing market for multifunctional devices triggered by the adoption of MFPs in SMBs as well as in large enterprises. Both large and small organizations are turning to laser MFPs rather than inkjet devices.

According to Nitin Hiranandani, Director - LaserJet Enterprise Solutions, Imaging & Printing Group, HP, It has been a year of strong growth and consolidation of HP’s leadership in both inkjet and Laser printer market. According to IDC, the total printer shipments for FY11 reached 1.39 million for Inkjet printers and 1.63 million for laser printers. HP continues to be the market leader across inkjets and lasers and we are confident of sustaining our position. We have significantly grown our business and have gained market share across consumers, SOHO buyers, SMBs and large enterprises. The laser printers market expanded in FY11 on the back of the general economic boom and a strong preference for laser printers in offices. HP remained the market leader at the end of the financial year

with a quarter market share of 43% (according to IDC figures) through a winning portfolio of cost effective, reliable, secure and professional-quality printing and imaging solutions, backed with over 25 years of continuous innovation.

“One of the most noteworthy trends underway in the printers market is a steady transition from single-function printers to All-in-Ones. The MFDs have seen a strong growth in the market with rapid adoption by SOHO and education segments. Our laser printers are making fresh inroads not just in metros but also largely in tier 2 cities, where the huge SMB segment resides and is fast evolving,” added Hiranandani.

According to Gartner, Inc, the combined serial inkjet and page printer, copier and multifunction product (MFP) market in India totaled 6,65,172 units in the first quarter of 2011, a 2.5 percent decline compared to the first quarter of 2010.

“The printer market in India this year has been sluggish but Canon’s printer division has sustained the growth momentum. In the laser printer segment, Canon has maintained its leadership position in key markets in India. Smaller towns and cities outside of the major metropolitan cities, and small and medium businesses, were the growth drivers,” said, VP Sajeevan, Director – Consumer System Products, Canon India.

Sanjay Yadav, Director - Sales and Distribution, CSMB, Dell India, commented, “The printing industry has seen a transformation in the past few years. The vision of a paperless office is yet far from real and there is tremendous opportunity

Mr. Nitin Hiranandani, director - Laserjet enterprise Solutions, imaging & Printing Group, HP

“We at HP, truly understand the customer pulse, and create customized products, suiting precisely their needs. Channel engagement is at the core of our strategy. Because of the strong partner and customer focus, our valuable partners and consumers become our medium to drive sales through the word of mouth publicity, which is a clear justification of the customer satisfaction. They are no more mere channel partners but are real HP advocates. However, at the same time we realize importance of point-of-sale materials, branding and advertising. We have also been strategically investing on our marketing initiatives.”

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in the printer market. Consumers are looking for innovative products, which are both cost-effective and efficient. According to Gartner, the combined serial inkjet and page printer, copier and multifunction product (MFP) market in India totaled 6,81,142 units in Q4 2010, a 10% increase YoY – this just substantiates the opportunity that we are talking about.”

“Today, Multi function devices are increasingly helping orga¬nizations to consolidate investment, maximize space and simplify workflow processes, supply ordering and minimize maintenance calls, saving time, money for SMBs. In 2007-08, Panasonic has entered the imaging and printing market with the launch of most advanced solutions of MFPs which are being specially designed to fulfill grow¬ing needs of SMBs and enterprises to fast track their growth in the current Indian economy by providing them with increased productivity and efficiency” said, Ajay Madan, Asst. General Manager, Document Products, Panasonic India.

“Indian IT Market is one of the fastest growing markets worldwide today and Printer being essentially a part of IT eco system is also experiencing a very high growth trajectory. In this era of multifunction printer’s today printers are no longer just devices for printing, but have grown into allied spaces such as document management/ Fax and Office Automation areas. The growth potential also looks very positive in coming days,” said, S M Ramprasad - DGM, Consumer Products, Epson India.

Demand of MFP vis-a-vis single-

function printersMFP growth has been as high as 20%

and the growth is following up an increasing trend. The MFP market is fast barging into mid end laser SFP market with the acquisition cost for entry level machines falling down. The demand of MFP products will continue to rise in India with the factors like lowering down of acquisition cost, network option at lower price points and technology advancement making the high end copier features available to the mid range A4 MFD.

“Canon has been contributing in a big way with highest growth in the color MFP. The technological advancement that are coming up are copiers features like Network scanning, Department ID and the latest among now is Wi-Fi connectivity. Apart from Energy star and ROHS compliance, the Automatic Duplex printing to save paper, Energy saver mode on the hardware, Toner saver mode and Lower TEC rating are all efforts towards greener printers. The market for MFP will continue to register a growth of around 20% with color MFP growing faster in the years to come,” opined, Sajeeven

“We have observed a very high growth in the adoption of multi-function printers in India. According to Gartner, the combined serial inkjet and laser printer, copier and multifunctional product (MFP) market in India totalled nearly 0.7 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010, a 10% increase over the fourth

quarter of 2009. We believe this growth trend will continue going forward. Multifunction printers come in two flavours – Inkjet based multi-function printers, which are finding extensive use in homes, small business/offices and in the SMB segment. And the laser based MFP’s, which are witnessing high adoption rate in SMB and large businesses,” said, Hiranandani.

HP is a dominant player in the MFP space and we have been very successful in driving this market – especially in driving the shift from single function to multi-function printers. The key factors for the demand are affordability combined with increased functionality in the single device. HP also assures pay back value proposition for the laser MFP’s wherein the laser HP MFP delivers payback on its investment within 3 months. MFP’s are a great value proposition for small businesses which are in a growth mode. They offer savings in terms of duplex printing (printing on both sides of paper), efficiency improvement (network printing), advanced scanning and email capabilities as well as colour capability.

“There has been an ever-growing market for multifunctional devices

triggered by the adoption of MFPs in SMBs as well as in large enterprises. Both large and small organizations are turning to laser MFPs rather than inkjet devices. However, the needs of the customer also play a huge role in the demand – for e.g. For SOHOs and small business facing space crunch, multifunction printers are an answer to their needs. But large businesses where ease of usage, accuracy, precision matters; normal printers come as a choice,” said, Yadav of Dell India.

“Today, MFPs had an important role to play as organizations were reviewing their print expenses and attempting to better align printing fleets with their needs with the help of document management tools and services. It has biggest market and Panasonic has different products in this space,” said, Madan of Panasonic India.

“MFP as category is the fastest growing segment within the Printer Categories. The adoption of MFP is seen both as simple scan/copy/Print device at home as well as at corporate offices where they are really helping in multi tasking as well as increasing the productivity of an organization,” concluded, Ramprasad of Epson India.

Are All in one (AIO) Multifunction Printers gaining ground?

Today companies have become more cost conscious with regards to their printing and imaging environment. “ As mentioned

Mr. vP Sajeevan director Consumer System Products, Canon india

“in today’s era, the demand for printers amongst students is increasingly on the rise. The rush is on to get all geared up for the reams of assignments that await. in order to accomplish that task, chances are that students may need an AiO printer. For students who need to print, scan and copy, there is nothing better than an all-in-one printer. Canon PiXMA All-in-One inkjet (MX886) lets users print, scan, fax and copy, as well as print on both sides of the paper. The feature is sure to appeal to those looking for ways to green-up their printing. it has a 35-sheet auto document feeder and the ability to isolate still images from an HD movie file and turn them into photo prints.”

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earlier the MFPs of today are effective multi tasking devices helping in the complete life cycle of document management in an organization as well as at home. They are the perfect companion for Students/House wife/ working executives in managing their complete digital imaging needs whether its printing/scanning/Photo copying/Photo printing/Faxing etc,” said, Ramprasad of Epson India.

According to Yadav of Dell India, the multifunction Printers sure are gaining ground over others printers because of a number of advantages. Such as these printers occupy less space when compared to space occupied by individual devices. At home or in small offices, if you don’t have much space to put individual components, multifunction printers are the best option to go for. Also, these printers cater to the need of SMBs and SOHOs.They provides centralized document management. They also, minimize the number of power plug-ins required. The reason for this being number of wires reduces drastically in case of multifunction printers which saves power and hence proves cost-effective. While in case of individual devices, you need a separate power socket for each device. Multifunction printers are cheaper when compared to the total price of individual components including printer ink cartridges they encompass.

“In today’s era, the demand for printers amongst students is increasingly on the rise. The rush is on to get all geared up for the reams of assignments that wait. In order to accomplish that task, chances are that students may need anAIO printer. For students who need to print, scan and copy, there is nothing better than an all-in-one printer. Canon PIXMA All-in-One Inkjet (MX886) lets users print, scan, fax and copy, as well as print on both sides of the paper. The feature is sure to appeal to those looking for ways to green-up their printing. It has a 35-sheet auto document feeder and the ability to isolate still images from an HD movie file and turn them into photo prints,” said, Sajeevan.

“The laser printers are part of Panasonic’s Office Products and combine state of the art technology with user friendly interfaces. These printers are the latest addition to the All in One (AIO) segment and are the latest addition to Panasonic’s range of document solutions,” said, Madan of Panasonic India.

The multifunction printer can also help to eliminate problems with one of the most difficult of all office devices - the fax machine. Although faxes have, to a large extent, been superseded by email, they remain an important part of high level business, especially when it comes to exchanging signed documents between distant locations. Combining fax

functionality into a printer makes sending faxes - sometimes a notoriously difficult and laborious process - easier and allows you to create backup copies on your computer for future reference.

An often overlooked advantage of using a single device over several separate machines is that it makes staff training and troubleshooting problems easier. It's much easier - and more cost effective - to train staff to use a single machine made by one manufacturer than it is to get them up to speed with using separate devices made by several different companies. Some manufacturers may use interfaces that prove counter-intuitive to people used to using those of a rival company, sowing confusion in the workplace and causing no end of problems.

“The AIO Multifunction printers have an edge in an environment which needs printing, copying, scanning and faxing capabilities together in a single compact device that saves time, space and money; while boosting productivity at the same time. On the flip side, other printers like the standalone or photo printers are more focused for the end consumers which have basic printing needs. Here, we have entry level Inkjet and high speed LaserJet printers. These printers still have the highest cover in the home and SOHO segment. Speaking on the overall front, we have been the market leaders in both the Inkjet and Laserjet segments irrespective

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of the single function or multifunction printers,” said, Hiranandani of HP India.

Technology TrendToday demand for MFDs is determined

by the different printing needs of the business customers. Like, Performance, Print quality, Affordability, Networking, Supplies yield, Intervention rate and Remote management. As business demands change, the printer is morphing beyond its core functions, offering customers more value for money – and is rapidly evolving. MFDs are increasingly redefining office life, helping organizations to consolidate investment, maximize space and simplify workflow processes. MFDs also simplify cartridge usage and minimize maintenance calls, saving time, money, and critical resources for SMBs and enterprises.

“One of the recent trends in the MFP industry which is apparent in the last few years is their increasing acceptance in the SMB and the enterprise sectors. We at HP are investing a lot on the innovation in the multifunction printers to ensure that the CPP (cost per page) is brought down and the print delivery speed is constantly improved,” said, Hiranandani of HP India.

“See, Technology is changing day by day in every sector. On the technological front, Panasonic is far ahead with other vendors. Panasonic’s new series of Laser Multifunction Printer MB 1900, 2010 and 2030 series with maximum speed of 24 PPM with Print/Scan/Copy/Fax & network

compatibility at a very competitive price across India. Panasonic expects to increase its market share considerably in the All in One (AIO) segment with the introduction of these models. Our MFP has some unique features like security, mail server and cloud aware” said, Madan of Panasonic India.

Sajeevan of Canon India explained, “Canon is committed to launching technologically advanced products to make the printing experience easier and more enjoyable. Canon brings a technological edge with its Full HD Movie Print that allows consumers to capture and print favourite moments from Full HD Movies. Canon recently introduced five Inkjet all-in-one ‘movie printers’ from the PIXMA Black Series. Also, homes in India are increasingly becoming WiFi enabled. In such an environment, WiFi printers allow consumers to print from anywhere be it in their home or office. This explains our gradual demand driven shift towards WiFi technology for our PIXMA printers. The Wi-Fi connectivity in printers allows easy wireless photo printing from mobile phone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android devices.”

“The adoption of MFPs in small and medium business is one of the largest trends in the industry because of the market opportunity that lies ahead. Though both large and small organizations are using to it alike, MFPs are becoming a perfect fit for small business, as these they are more cost conscious and constantly look to control their operating costs. MFPs play an important role as organizations review their print expenses

and attempt to better align printing fleets with their needs with the help of document management tools and services,” said, Yadav of Dell India.

“Epson will continuously focus on Introducing MFPs which will offer the best of feature to match the changing customer needs both at office & at home by leveraging our advanced Micro Peizo Technology to offer both increased productivity as well as cost efficiency,” concluded, Ramprasad of Epson Ind ia .

Vendor’s FocusThere are several plans for

Canon’s printer division this year. “It is now apparent that there is a shift in the way computing and printing is going today. As enterprise segments and SMBs move to the cloud, we expect their printing pattern to change. E-Governance initiatives that are being implemented across all government departments. All critical departments– UID, HRD, Police, State – are getting connected. There is centralisation in the operations, so we see increased demand for printing emerging from this. The other segment is personal printing at

homes. This is because more and more people are travelling and going on holidays. So there is a demand in e-tickets, which means printing at home, then there are personal photographs, as well as education at home. We see an increased printing happening due to class projects. In laser printers, we garnered revenue of Rs 300 crore. Our goal this year is to become the number one in the laser printer category and to surpass the 42 percent market share. Canon India recorded a 98 percent growth in 2010. Canon India also plans to make its consumables more easily available and so by end of 2011, would increase its original ink centres from 1000 to 2000,” explained, Sajeevan of Canon India.

“India is a focus market for Panasonic and we follow a dual strategy for tapping different set of consumer groups. We have launched a range of products and communication suitable for high end as well as high volume segment. Our major focus is MFP (three in one) basic and high end. We expect to increase its market share considerably in the All in One (AIO) segment with the introduction of different models. Across the region there is significant demand for cost cutting all-in-one color and laser printers, which has intensified in the last few quarters. Panasonic printers are designed to help businesses cut costs” said, Madan of Panasonic India.

Yadav of Dell India said, “Dell is committed to helping our customers be more efficient, productive, and make the most of their IT and that includes printing. We always evaluate

Mr. Sanjay YadavDirector - Sales and Distribution, CSMB, Dell india

“The adoption of MFPs in small and medium business is one of the largest trends in the industry because of the market opportunity that lies ahead. Though both large and small organizations are using to it alike, MFPs are becoming a perfect fit for small business, as these they are more cost conscious and constantly look to control their operating costs. MFPs play an important role as organizations review their print expenses and attempt to better align printing fleets with their needs with the help of document management tools and services.”

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the best time to bring in new products based on customer requirements and an ability to offer optimal value. The Dell range of printer’s help users capture, transmit and transform their paper documents into digital formats, bringing them one step closer to a paperless digital office. By enabling sharing, archiving and printing of documents across a network, or even allowing a user to save and print using an USB drive, businesses can collaborate more easily, save time and even reduce their printing. The Dell printers are designed to meet the needs of a wide range of businesses looking for reliable, cost effective printing to meet their growing needs.”

“When it comes to single and multi-function printers, Dell’s ongoing sensitivity to hardware prices and lowering the overall cost of printing makes these machines compelling for companies of all sizes. Dell’s printer and multifunction device lineup is engineered to control operational costs and reduce your total cost of print by providing increased product reliability,” he further added.

“Our Focus is on introducing newer products for Digital Imaging needs including the latest range of MFPs which can support various interfaces including WiFi and remote printing Support like iprint/eprint/Google print etc. However the best features are of no use unless the printing cost is affordable. Only if printing is affordable will users actually print,” said, Ramprasad of Epson India.

“Keeping that in mind Epson has launched three unique range of products addressing to three Key User Segments like L Series printers with refillable external ink tanks that allow you to print @ Just 10 Paise for Mono A4 Document and 20 Paise for Colour A4 Document making them one of the revolutionary Print Product or solution to have been launched especially for the Indian market. K Series printer Which are addressed to Small & Medium Enterprises which allows you to print all your Mono Documents from Networked Printer /MFP with in built Auto Duplexer at Cost much lower than refilled Toner \Refilled Cartridges Print Cost Making them both cost effective as well environmental friendly. B Series printer addressed to Large Corporate for High Volume Networked Printing requirement where you can bring down your cost of printing to bare minimum as well don’t compromise on both quality and productivity,” added Ramprasad.

Hiranadani of HP explained, “We at HP, truly understand the customer pulse, and create customized products, suiting precisely their needs. Channel engagement is at the core of our strategy. Because of the strong partner and customer focus, our valuable partners and consumers become our medium to drive sales through the word of mouth publicity, which is a clear justification of the customer satisfaction. They are no more mere channel partners but are real HP advocates. However,

First: there is a content explosion; digital content is growing 10-fold every year and the number of printable documents is increasing by a factor of 3x.

Second: mobile devices like smart phones and tablets are becoming the preferred devices for accessing the Web; HP IPG predicts that by 2013, 26 billion incremental pages will be printed from mobile devices and 85% of smart phone users will want to print.

Third: content such as photos, newspapers, m a g a z i n e s , d o c u m e n t s a r e m o v i n g from analog to digital; over 200 bi l l ion pages are moving to digital every year.

And fourth: the industry and consumers are moving from a device- or hardware-centric model to service-based business models. HP IPG predicts that the opportunity for managed printing services will grow from $18 billion in 2010 to $25 billion by 2013. Retailing publishing services will soar from $5 billion in 2010 to $12 billion by 2013.

In this scenario, workers and consumers would need to print from any device, at any location, on-demand. Responding to this transformation HP IPG believes the printer needs to be "Web-enabled" and "cloud-aware."

IPG Identified Four Key Trends

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at the same time we realize importance of point-of-sale materials, branding and advertising. We have also been strategically investing on our marketing initiatives.”

“With an aim to further cement our position as the leader in the laser MFDs market, HP is strengthening its channel engagement efforts and is conducting channel road shows and training across the state to educate channel partners on the new product portfolio and technologies. As a part of its ‘go-to-market’ strategy, HP is focusing on the growing number of entrepreneurs and heightened business activity in upcountry markets and is targeting SOHO users and small businesses in key growth verticals like logistics, design agencies, architects, travel houses, exporters and self-employed professionals through focused market development programs. Our key focus areas include: Effective engagement of channel partners; Understanding the customer needs and the Innovation and research in our product line to deliver at customer expectations,” added, Hiranadani of HP India.

Vendor’s Strategies to exploit the demand for MFP

Indian customers are increasingly demanding faster turnarounds, shorter run lengths, and personalized documents. In addition, customers base their buying decisions on three key criteria: total cost of ownership, business efficiency, and green technologies. The key to leveraging these trends is to develop new ways to work that translate into finding innovative

ways to increase productivity and ROI.

Sanjay Yadav of Dell India, explained, “In our interactions with IT managers on their top-ten priority list, printing rarely makes it to the list. But what has always resonated with our customers so far, is when we say that we can save you 20-30 percent on a product line that may not be a priority, and will give you your IT budget back so you can spend that money on what is mission-critical. For small businesses and medium businesses who are dealing with limited space and resources, our printers take the guess-work out of IT with excellent warranty and support options. Our printers have been positioned to meet the needs of all these low to mid-sized user groups that require individual as well as shared printing requirements. SOHOs, small and medium organizations and small workgroups of large corporations worldwide, will all benefit from Dell’s range of single function and multi-function devices, which deliver outstanding color print quality, fast printouts and optimal energy efficiency without compromising affordability.”

“We are also working closely with our partners to ensure they receive the right support from Dell in terms of training and education on Dell printers and the benefits offered to customers. To build awareness on the availability of our printer range in India we are investing in reaching out to partners through the channel magazines, online, radio and Partner branding/POSM enablements,” he added further.

“Our printers are the latest addition to the All in One (AIO) segment and are the latest addition to Panasonic’s range of document solutions. The printers offer a maximum speed of 24 PPM with Print/Scan/Copy/Fax & network compatibility at a very competitive price across India. Through our replace drum the costs will be 40 to 50% lower. Under our global Eco Ideas programme, which includes Eco Ideas for Life styles & Business – styles, the company develops energy-efficient, state-of-the-art products and encourages customers to live eco-conscious lifestyles with an aim to reduce CO2 emissions in households and manufacturing units. Company vision is to be the No 1 Green Innovation Company worldwide in the Electronics industry by year 2018,” said, Madan.

“We have well defined strategy for maximizing our presence in growing product as well as market segments which includes the MFPs. We have launched products especially created for the Indian market and

the price conscious Indian consumer. We have evolved consistent go to market strategy which combines the best of ATL and BTL communication programs addressing to our targeted end customers along with we have also a structured channel & SI engagement program through our nDimension and nSolutions Platforms.,” revealed Ramprasad of Epson India.

Sajeeven of Canon India explained, “ Canon plans to open 100 Canon branded stores ‘Canon Image Square’across India in 2011 and increase the number of stores to 300 by 2013. With this plan, Canon India would deepen foothold in 150 cities in the coming three years. The stores enforces Canon’s increased focus on penetration across the country including major metros and tier II & tier III markets to enhance the brand awareness and increase sales. To eradicate piracy and facilitate access to quality products Canon printer division initiated a drive of using original cartridges, supporting which it opened more than 1000 Original Ink Centers across 176 cities in India. Canon also plans to increase its original ink centres from 1000 to 2000 by year end.

According to Hiranadani of HP India, the multifunction printers are finding acceptance primarily in the SMB and the enterprise segment where the requirements are multi-fold. The SMBs which are fast growing in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities thrive on cost effective solutions as they need value for money in all their investments. Our MFPs are well designed to ensure that the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for these SMBs is low in the long run. With our printers getting energy star qualification,

Mr. S M Ramprasad dGM, Consumer Products, epson india

“We have well defined strategy for maximizing our presence in growing product as well as market segments which includes the MFPs. We have launched products especially created for the indian market and the price conscious indian consumer. We have evolved consistent go to market strategy which combines the best of ATl and BTl communication programs addressing to our targeted end customers along with we have also a structured channel & Si engagement program through our nDimension and nSolutions Platforms.”

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Mr. ajay Madanasst. General Manager, document Products, Panasonic india

The laser printers are part of Panasonic’s Office Products and combine state of the art technology with user friendly interfaces. Our printers are the latest addition to the All in One (AiO) segment and are the latest addition to Panasonic’s range of document solutions. We expect to increase its market share considerably in the All in One (AiO) segment with the introduction of different models. Across the region there is significant demand for cost cutting all-in-one color and laser printers, which has intensified in the last few quarters. Panasonic printers are designed to help businesses cut costs”

the cost incurred by SMBs on printing is substantially mitigated. SMBs save money and improve productivity with imaging and printing products and solutions of HP. Hence we are helping SMBs prepare for future growth and

enable greater differentiation. HP is helping them simplify their business processes and improve their marketing communication.

“In case of enterprises, almost all major verticals are deploying MFPs as the benefits

are obvious. The IT, BFSI & Telecom vertical markets are equally aggressive in investment on MFDs. HP IPG has 2000 customers globally who use the company’s Managed Print Services (MPS) offering. This includes the biggest names in the telecom, IT, manufacturing and BFSI segment. High tech industry is the core focus for our Managed Print Services. All these enterprises primarily deploy MFPs. Deploying MFPs helps them meet their varied requirements of printing, scanning faxing and copying,” concluded, Hiranandani of HP India.

At Last

The Printer market in India is slated for a commendable expansion plan, as many new brands are foraying into the printer market. Konica Minolta and Dell made a recent foray into the Indian printer industry despite the dominance of the established giants like HP and Canon. Dell a well known PC brand had previously ventured into smartphone businesses with ‘Venue’. It now forays into printing devices with printers for home offices and small to medium establishments.

The market for printers is looking up in India as the country has sold over

25 lakhs units of printers in 2010 alone. Hence the opportunity in such a market is not small. There is a lot of untapped potential which new players could capitalize on. Hence it would still provide an even field for competition.