The U.S. colour inkjet market in 3Q99 was turbo-charged with several vendors shipping record unit volumes, according to new data released today by International Data Corporation (IDC). Consumer demand for color inkjet printers exhibited robust growth both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter. IDC expects colour inkjet sales will continue to soar and post a phenomenal 4Q99 in the coming holiday season. In the best third-quarter performance ever, U.S. color inkjet printer shipments exceeded 4.8 million units, with 34% growth over the same quarter a year ago, and a healthy 24% 3Q99-over-2Q99 increase in unit shipments.
"The growth in demand for color inkjets will persist due to rapidly declining PC prices and the ongoing success of PC/printer bundles in the low-end segment, " said IDC analyst Weili Su. Hewlett-Packard remained the king of the inkjet empire, despite continuous efforts by competitors to chip away at its dominant share. Lexmark surpassed Epson for the first time to become one of the top-three inkjet vendors in the U.S. market, not counting its OEM sales to Compaq. U.S. inkjet shipments for Lexmark and Compaq combined would eclipse the number-two inkjet vendor in 3Q99 - Canon.
In the desktop color laser market, Hewlett-Packard`s Color LaserJet 4500 and 8500 printers were stellar performers in 3Q99, snapping up nearly 60% of desktop color laser shipments for the quarter. As businesses migrate to color printing applications, Hewlett-Packard is well positioned to benefit from the growth as well as a steady stream of revenue from consumables.
Looking toward 4Q99, strong consumer demand and a healthy U.S. economy will further fuel color inkjet growth, which translates into a merry holiday season for inkjet vendors and an excellent opportunity to build installed base.
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International Data Corporation (IDC)
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