Asia Pacific production printer market expected to rebound

Colour production printer shipments to increase at 5.1% CAGR.

According to industry analysts IDC, the production printer shipment market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4% CAGR through 2025.

Colour production printers are expected to drive the growth of the market, with a CAGR of 5.1%. Conversely, monochrome printers is expected to decline, holding a CAGR of -0.6% through to 2025.

Despite a sharp dip in 2020, IDC sees a gradual rebound of the production printer market through 2025, albeit not to pre-pandemic levels.

"We have not seen the light as the end of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel. As the virus continues to mutate, we expect a sluggish recovery in most regions. The same goes for the printing industry. Hence, consumer behavior and printing trends have changed. We anticipate the market to gradually grow from 2021 and recover by 2023 at a lower shipment level than pre-pandemic levels," said Sharon Cheng, senior market analyst, IDC Asia/Pacific's Imaging Printing and Document Solution (IPDS) Group.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large impact on the overall printing market since 2020. However, it also opened opportunities for those that stayed to provide extensive services to cope with the change in printing demand and trend.

“The pandemic lockdowns and movement restrictions impacted most businesses, resulting in high unemployment rates and loss of income. This triggered many stay-at-home entrepreneurs to kick-start new businesses through digital platforms as well as digital transformation by the offset printing businesses,” said Cheng.