The global large-format inkjet printer market will be worth $12.5 billion by 2016, with growth driven by the signage and promotional sectors, according to a recent industry research report from MarketsandMarkets.
The report forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7 per cent between now and 2016, which it credits to the speed, cost-effectiveness and flexibility of today’s large-format printers. In addition to the versatility of printing indoor and outdoor signage, billboards, banners, point-of-purchase (POP) graphics and hoardings, among other applications, improved piezoelectric inkjet printheads are achieving higher resolution, so the presses can achieve finer, smoother details in photographic-quality printing.
Further, in comparison to more expensive printing technologies like dye sublimation, inkjets offer a lower cost per page and the advantage of needing practically no warm-up time. Wide-format inks have become environmentally friendlier, too, with the mainstream acceptance of ultraviolet-curable (UV-curable) and durable aqueous ‘latex’ inks, which contain few to zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Although MarketsandMarkets expects revenues in the large-format printer market to rise on a global basis, the company says North America will remain the overall market leader, while the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region will remain the large-format market leader in textile printing. Also, longtime inkjet printer manufacturers like HP, Epson and Canon continue to dominate the industry.
