Following the printing of seven million photobooks and calendars on HP Indigo presses around the world in 2006, demand for photo-specialty products continues to accelerate as consumers embrace a new way to print and share their digital images.
The Western European market for all types of photobooks is projected to increase at a 94 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2003 to 2010, reaching a value of more than €3billion in 2010 (1).
Jakob Bovin, photo business manager, Indigo Digital Press, HP Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) says, "With the number of pictures being captured and saved from cameras and camera phones in Western Europe rising at a 17.8 percent CAGR from 2003 to 2010, we have more photos today than ever.
"In 2006, 63 billion images were saved and shared, and a total of 14 billion printed – in 2011 we estimate this will rise to 110 billion and 24 billion respectively (2). More and more European online and photo retailers are promoting personalised photo-specialty products, raising consumer awareness and driving demand."
Growth rates are likely to be similar in Australia, and this presents a significant opportunity for photo companies to differentiate themselves by offering personalised photo-specialty products to their customers, particularly since the margin on a high-end photobook is greater than that for hundreds of standard 6" x 4" prints.
Australian Printer editor Wayne Robinson highlighted the current photo book opportunity in the June issue of the magazine, he says, "The latest set of figures from Europe bears out Australian Printer's own understanding, which is that photobooks will be huge, and a great opportunity exists for digital printers to exploit that as yet virgin territory."
HP's Bovin says, "We''ve enjoyed a fantastic acceptance for our technology in a segment of the market that was virtually non-existent three years ago. Today we estimate that at least three out of four consumer photobooks in Europe are printed using HP Indigo technology(2), and bound in conjunction with established bookmaking equipment. In addition, these same digital presses can make memorable photo calendars, agendas, greetings cards and other digitally printed products and consumers and producers alike are embracing new photo-specialty products."
(1) Photo Imaging News
(2) HP Internal Data
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