South African printer market up 17.8% in shipments in 2004

After a modest 6.2% expansion in 2003, the South African printer market grew by 17.8% in shipment volume in 2004, with low-end machines accounting for the jump in growth. According to IDC, revenue growth last year was a healthy 20.1%. IDC expects shipment volume to grow a further 8.8% in 2005 and 2.4% in 2006. Inkjets accounted for 63.5% of shipment volume, but represented just 24.5% of value. Monochrome lasers constituted just over a quarter of shipments but nearly 40% of value. In terms of growth, the color laser segment was the most dynamic, with shipments more than doubling last year, though the segment was starting from a small base and represented only a fraction (2.8%) of overall market volume in 2004.