The market for color electrophotographic (EP) hardware, media and chemicals is expected to grow from $17 billion in 2001 to more than $38 million in 2006, according to I.T. Strategies, a Boston, MA-based digital-printing research and consultancy firm. According to a recently released statement, the chemical segment will lead the growth “? going from just under $8 billion in 2001 to more than $20 billion in 2006.
Broken down according to the type of printer used (desktop color printers, connected color copiers and digital presses), color copiers represent the largest share of the market with a total revenue growth from $11 billion in 2001 to $22 billion in 2006.
I.T. Strategies' Mark Hanley says the data show a “clear user behavior trend in the direction of smaller job sizes, more localization, cheaper systems, and net volume reduction. This is reducing the growth in the digital press-production sector and transferring the growth to lower-volume, less expensive, copier-type devices.” (I.T. Strategies: www.it-strategies.com)