Asia Pacific printer sales up 16%

Printers shipped in 2003 totaled 16.2 mln units while spending reached almost US$3.3 mln, according to Gartner. Representing just 18% of the total printer market or 2.9 mln units, page printer achieved consistent growth of 25% in 2003. Strong demand from the growing SMB market, government sector and aggressive prices were the main drivers of page printers. Serial Dot Matrix printers showed 22% growth - primarily due to the fulfillment of the Golden Taxation project in China.