The printer market in India has undergone a sea change in recent times. According to a report released by research firm Netscribes, printer shipment in India exceeded 2.7 Million units in 2011. This is a Leap of Nearly 5.2% from the previous year. Currently, Indian SMEs across industry verticals are propelling this high growth. This segment contributes to roughly 60% of the overall printer market. What propelled the high rate of adoption in this segment is the declining price of printers. Thanks to the entry of foreign players in the market, the printer market in India is currently heated up with competition. This has resulted in slashing of printer price by both domestic and foreign players.

The shift is towards green printing, cloud printing and managed printing.

Among the three categories of printers comprising of inkjet, dot matrix and laser printers, the report noted that with the advent of technology, both SMEs and large enterprises are shifting their focus on adopting modern and profitable printing technologies. Some of these include green printing, cloud printing and managed printing services. “Currently, the market is flooded with foreign players who have managed to garner a significant market share in India are continually increasing the pressure on their counterparts in the market,” noted Banga.

Talking about the growth strategies of the printer market in India Banga noted that pushing the sales of color printers and building a better foothold in the unsaturated markets are the two essential strategies that are expected to propel better printer sales.

The report also mentions that factors influencing growth in the printer market is directly proportionate to the PC base, declining prices, increased disposable income and high content generation. According to Banga, primarily, the PC-printer ratio still has a wide gap and it is this gap which is creating a constant pull for printers in the market.

This report throws light on the Indian SME market scenario and discusses the key decisions and purchase preference in this segment. The survey takes into account 40 cities in India and shows that a significant proportion of SMEs are present and hence a sizable number of printers are shipped to these cities has been provided in a tabulated manner and thus can be used by printer manufacturers and distributors to develop their city based strategies and expansion plans in India.