HP to revive inkjet printer market for offices

In a bid to drive demand for inkjet office printers in the entry-level small and medium business and the mid-enterprise segments, market leader Hewlett-Packard India on Wednesday unveiled half-a dozen new products in price range of Rs 7,999-Rs50,499.

The HP OfficejetPro X series were positioned as value products targeting mid-sized enterprises (up to 15 users) offering printing solutions at twice the speed and half the cost of color laser printers. “These new inkjet innovations offer laser-comparable and affordable print solution that will drive adoption of inkjets in Indian offices,” said Nitin Hiranandani, director – printing systems, Printing and Personal Systems, H-P India. The HP OfficePro X series are priced in the range of Rs 31,999-Rs 50,499.

HP Officejet Pro 3610 B&W and HP Officejet Pro 3620 B&W (priced at Rs7,999 and Rs 11,999, respectively) are specifically designed and developed keeping in mind the printing needs of SMB and SOHO markets in India and China. “These will help us penetrate the SMB market increasing our target addressable market manifold,” said Hiranandani.  As per customer feedback around 90% of office users in this segment prefer B&W printers. Till now customers were compromising on features and functionalities in their printers to fit them into their budget. The move will help expand the market as many SMBs are now likely to opt for full-feature inkjet printers, instead of single-function laser printers.

According to IDC India data, of the total 2.9 million units of printers shipped in 2012, 1.16 million were inkjet printers, and 1.74 million were laser printers. Interestingly, number of inkjet printer shipped that year dropped by 4.5%, as against the previous year.  In contrast, laser printer shipment experienced a 13.7% growth, with the overall market growing by 5.6% in 2012.  Hewlett-Packard India has 52.6% share of total printer market in the country in 2012 in terms of shipment, according to IDC data. As per industry estimates the Indian printer market is valued at around $800million.

Hewlett-Packard India plans an audio-visual advertising and promotion campaign, across print, digital, outdoor, on-ground to push sales of inkjet printers in the office space.