Dye-sub printers buck downward trend for 2020: IDC

New data from International Data Corporation (IDC) shows industrial printer shipments into Australia and New Zealand declined by 35 per cent in 2020 with dye-sublimation printers bucking this trend amid strong demand for retail, souvenir and t-shirt printing.

The downward trend is not unique to Australia and New Zealand with the same rates recorded across the Asia Pacific region.

IDC market analyst for IPDS at IDC Asia/Pacific Muhammad Faris Latief says:

“Economic slowdown due to the pandemic, sluggish business sentiment and limited hardware and equipment were the cause of the diminished total numbers in 2020.

“This trend was not unique to Australia and New Zealand, with the majority of Asia Pacific countries experiencing similar declines.”

Sluggish freight, high costs attributed

The report found all segments suffered significant declines in terms of unit shipments with the high costs of a “sluggish” freight system blamed.

IDC Quarterly Industrial printer Tracker, 2021QI (source: IDC)

“This was particularly so for both Graphics (down 18% YoY) and computer-aided design (CAD) products (down 43% YoY). The increasing cost of freight and extended dwelling times resulted in the market being sluggish, with principals and distributors experiencing postponed shipments in 2020. Raw material constraints for printers and supplies also contributed to the decline,” the report says.

Dye-sublimation strong

But on the bright side, the report has noted a 100 per cent increase year-on-year in dye sublimation printing technology shipments into Australia.

IDC attributes this to the strength in the 24″ dye-sub market for entry level businesses which has risen in line with user demand for retail, souvenir and t-shirt printing.

“Australia and New Zealand are experiencing strong economic growth as a result of increases in consumer and business confidence in line with their continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 was a challenging year for the Industrial Printer market, but IDC expects more positive trends in coming years,” Faris Latief said.

IDC Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, 2021Q1 (source: IDC)

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