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Printer maker Epson India, part of the Japanese major Seiko Epson, plans to capture 12 per cent share of the laser printer market in India, from the current 8 per cent through its InkTank printers.
“In three years, it plans to capture 25 per cent of the laser printer market,” said N Sambamoorthy, President and CEO, Epson India.
“The proportion of laser printers in India is bigger than the global average. That means there is a huge opportunity for us to (ensure) more share from the laser printers to (shift to) inkjet printers,” Koichi Kubota, Chief Operating Officer, Printing Solutions Operations Division Seiko Epson Corporation, told BusinessLine .
He added, “Epson India has been replacing laser printers step by step. But still, nearly half of the total market in India is still laser. In the US and Japan, 80-90 per cent of the (printer) market is inkjet. It’s completely different.” Epson clocked a market share of 46.44 per cent in the inkjet printer market in FY19, and it plans to increase this to 50 per cent this year through the new launches. Epson India has had a CAGR of over 15 per cent in the last three years and intends to increase it to around 20 per cent in the next three years.
It clocked a revenue of ₹1,896 crore last year, and is targeting ₹2,050-2,070 crore this year.
The mono laser printers in the 1-20 PPM category, which constitute almost 70 per cent of the laser printing industry, has reduced in the number of units sold to 10,15,823 units in FY18 from 12,68,972 in FY13, according to data shared by Epson. Total inkjet printer market size has increased to 18,80,651 units from 12,38,926 during this period.
Sambamoorthy said users have shifted from laser printers to inkjet printers, which is reflected in the 8 per cent market share Epson India has captured from the laser printer market.
Earlier, the company was addressing this shift through its colour printers. The focus has now changed to its Monochrome EcoTank printers to tap into the office printing market.
Epson announced the launch of seven new Monochrome EcoTank printers on Thursday, targeting the office printing market.
Office printing
Epson India has been pitching these InkTank printers as a cost-effective and environment-friendly alternative to the cartridge-based printers and laser printers.
“The new Epson Monochrome EcoTank printers are ideal for organisations that are concerned about their printing costs, efficiency and the environment. They have been designed keeping in mind the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which we actively support,”said Siva Kumar, Senior General Manager, InkJet Printers, Epson India.
He added, “With the addition of these new printers, Epson now has an extensive range of 14 Mono EcoTank printers to suit every office printing need. We intend to change the office printing landscape in India with these printers.”
The new models are designed to lower business printing costs in comparison to mono laser printers.
“The cheaper inks result in a significantly low total cost of ownership for the organisation,” said the company. These printers use 12 watts of power as compared to the mono laser printers which use up to 250 watts.
The Epson Monochrome Ecotank printers are also ‘heat-free’, unlike the mono laser printers and it also generate less e-waste, the company added.
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