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PODi Aust NZ found in its fourth annual study of the local production digital print market that unit sales in 2009 totalled 1,441, down from a high of 1,772 units in 2006.

Garry Knespal, general manager of PODi Aust NZ and executive director of GASAA, said sales had “held up quite well” considering the severe economic pressure put on companies by the global financial crisis.

“While overall unit sales in 2009 of production digital devices fell by around 9%, the heavy segments (monochrome and colour) and medium colour segments showed some modest growth in unit sales,” he said.

Knespal (pictured) claimed that the uplift in sales of high-production colour and mono units may be an indicator that larger commercial printers are moving more into high-end digital.

The study also estimated that the total installed base of digital units now exceeds 7,500 production devices, 57% of which are colour. The study estimated that there are now around 3,000 print sites with digital print capabilities.

“The reduced unit sales have only marginally impacted on the total installed base since the start of this survey, down just 1% since 2006. This small reduction would suggest that capacity in production digital print has barely changed,” Knespal said.

The findings of the study will be discussed at the fourth local PODi Application Forum, which will be held in conjunction with the Sydney Visual Image Impact Expo from 20-22 September.

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